RALPH  W.  RYMER 


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Pennsylvania 

Colonial    and    Federal 


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Pennsylvania 

Colonial  and    Federal 

A    HISTORY     :     :     :     1608-1905 
Editor    HOWARD     M.    JENKINS 


Volume  Cl)ree 


Pennsylvania  Historical  Publishing  Association 
One  hundred  and  forty  North  Fifteenth  Stree 
Philadelphia    •    Pennsylvania     :     :     :     McMV 


Copyright,   1905 
By  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Publishing  Association 


Contents 

CHAPTER  I 
Porter's  Administration — 1839-1845 i 

CHAPTER  n 

Skunk's  and  Johnston's  Administrations — 1845-1852.      30 

CHAPTER  HI 

Bigler's,  Pollock's,  and  Packer's  Administrations — 

1852-1861    45 

CHAPTER  IV 
Curtin's  Administration — 1861-1867   68 

CHAPTER  V 
Geary's  Administration — 1867- 1873 132 

CHAPTER  VI 
Hartranft's  Administration — 1873-1879 148 

CHAPTER  VII 
Hoyt's  and  Pattison's  Administrations — 1879-1887.  .  .    166 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Beaver's  and  Pattison's  Administrations — 1887-1895.    183 

CHAPTER  IX 

Hastings's,  Stone's  and  Pennypacker's  Administra- 
tions— 1895-1905 201 

CHAPTER  X 
Natural  Resources 225 

CHAPTER  XI 
Pittsburgh  and  Its  Environs 399 


Etchings 


Andrew  Gregg  Curtin Frontispiece 

James  Ross  Opposite    48 

Stephen   Decatur Opposite    80 

James  Buchanan Opposite  128 

Jeremiah  Sullivan  Black Opposite  160 

George  Gordon  Meade Opposite  240 

Bayard  Taylor Opposite  272 

WiNFiELD  ScoTT  Hancock Opposite  336 

John  Frederick  Hartranft Opposite  400 


Illustrations 

Charles  Cornwallis — Portrait 3 

John  Dickinson— Silhouette   ^° 

Jesuit  Mission  Relic ^4 

Frederick  Augustus  Conrad  Muhlenberg— Portrait 21 

Richard    Butler — Portrait ^5 

Arthur  St.  Clair— Portrait • 34 

Arthur  St.  Clair  Monument 3° 

Old  Lottery  Ticket,  Showing  Washington's  Signature 41 

The  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne— Portrait 47 

Anthony  Wayne's  Homestead 5° 

Anthony  Wayne's  Monument 54 

The  Wayne  Kettle 5° 

Wayne  Block-House,  Erie "3 

William   Crawford's   Cabin,  Connellsville 7° 

Arms,  1790 ''4 

Franklin  Library,  1790-1887.    First  Surgeon's  Hall,  1765-1802 75 

John  Franklin — Portrait  7° 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

JosiAH    Harmar — Portrait 84 

Dial  Rock  88 

William  Jackson — Portrait    93 

John   McMillan — Portrait    96 

John  McMillan's  Log  Building 100 

William  Bradford — Portrait   104 

Joseph  Horsfield — Portrait  108 

William  White — Portrait  iii 

Thayendanegea — Joseph  Brant  115 

William  Maclay — Portrait  120 

New  Castle  Lottery  Ticket — Obverse  and  Reverse 125 

Fort  Le  Boeuf,  Erie  County,  built  1796 128 

Homestead  of  General  David  Mead 135 

Thomas  Mifflin — Portrait   141 

Old  Mifflin  Mansion 144 

Old  Court  House,  Lancaster 151 

Bank  of  the  United  States,  1790 157 

Henry    Miller — Portrait    169 

Old  Lantern    172 

House  Built  in  Philadelphia  for  the  President  of  the  United  States  176 

Pennsylvania  Hospital,  as  it  Appeared  in  1799 t8o 

Arms,    1805    1&4 

Charles  Willson  Peale — Portrait 189 

Richard   Peters — Portrait    192 

William  Findlay — Portrait  196 

William  Tilghman — Portrait   203 

Thomas  Jefferson — Portrait  207 

Robert  Fulton — Portrait   217 

George  Mifflin   Dallas — Portrait 231 

William    Bigler — Portrait 235 

Butler 238 

Town  Buildings  of  Doylestown  About  1840 240 

Monument  at  Junction  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and  Delaware.  .  242 

James   Pollock — Portrait 246 

Arms,   1855 250 

William   Fisher   Packer — Portrait 254 

Felix  Reville  Brunot — Portrait 259 

Thomas   Buchanan   Read — Portrait 263 

Arms,   1870 266 

Entrance  to  Fort  Washington,  Cumberland  County,  Opposite  Har- 

risburg 270 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Mai's  of  Fokts  Washington  and  Henry  Clay,  Cumberland  County...  272 

John   White  Geary — Portrait 278 

Slocum  Hollow,  1840 282 

Jesse   Fell — Portrait 290 

Breaker  in  the  Anthracite  Coal  Region 294 

Coal  Mine  Trolley,  600  Feet  Underground 297 

Daniel  Agnew — Portrait 303 

Asa    Packer — Portrait 3 '  i 

Simon  Cameron — Portrait 3i9 

Edwin  Laurentine  Drake — Portrait 33' 

Drake's  First  Oil  Well 335 

General  View  of  Pithole,  1865 338 

General  View  of  Pithole,  1895 2)2>9 

The  Drake  Monument 343 

Henry  Martyn   Hoyt — Portrait 35 1 

The  Great  Seal  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania— Obverse.  .  358 
The  Great  Seal  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania— Reverse.  .  359 

Central  Part  of  Washington 2>(V 

Western  Entrance  to  York,  Pennsylvania 375 

Carbondale  Churches  in  1840 2>79 

Bristol  from  the  Island 2>^7 

Samuel   Barr — Portrait 40i 

Map  of  Pittsburgh,  1795 40S 

Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia,  Restored 409 

Second  Edifice  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Built 

1804 415 

Old  Fashioned  Oil  Lamps  in  Use  in  Pioneer  Households 419 

Old  State  Capitol 4^3 

Joseph   Stockton — Portrait 425 

E.   Denny — Portrait 429 

Henry  Baldwin — Portrait 433 

James  O'Hara — Portrait 437 

Home  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 439 

First  Pittsburgh   Academy 443 

Robert  Bruce — Portrait 447 

Johnstown 45i 

John  Black — Portrait 45° 

W.  W.  Irwin — Portrait 463 

William   McCandless — Portrait 467 

New  State  Capitol 473 

Second  Allegheny  County  Court  House 479 


Pennsylvania 

Colonial    and  Federal 


CHAPTER  I. 

PORTER'S  ADMINISTRATION-1839-1845 

DAVID  R.  PORTER,  who  became  Governor  in  1839,  was 
born  near  Norristown  two  years  before  the  adoption  of 
the  constitution  of  1790.  From  his  father,  who  was  a 
Revohitionary  soldier,  the  son  inherited  strong  quahties.  At  Nor- 
ristown Academy  he  fitted  himself  for  Princeton  College,  which 
he  did  not  enter  on  account  of  its  destruction  by  fire.  After  his 
father's  appointment  as  Surveyor-General  of  the  State  he  took  his 
son  with  him  as  an  assistant  to  Harrisburg,  where  he  studied  law. 
Business  drew  him  into  Huntingdon  county,  from  which  in  1819 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Assembly.  For  several  years  he 
held  some  county  offices;  meanwhile  he  was  much  interested  in 
farming,  and  in  1836  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Senate. 
His  marked  cjualities  were  soon  recognized,  and  without  aspiring 
to  leadership,  he  rose  to  a  commanding  position. 

Elected  Governor  in  1838,  he  was  the  first  to  serve  under  the 
new  constitution.  His  opening  message  is  a  review  of  the  con- 
dition of  affairs,  an  appeal  for  economy  and  good  government, 
the  separation  of  the  government  from  banking,  the  lessening  of 
the  number  of  corporations  and  a  strong  plea  for  education.  A 
few  days  afterward  he  presented  another  message  relating  to  the 
finances  of  the  State.  The  House  was  Democratic,  while  the 
Senate  was  controlled  by  Whigs.  The  public  debt  amounted  to 
$30,174,304.  Of  this  sum  $22,229,003  had  been  spent  for  canals 
and  railroads,  and  more  than  a  quarter,  or  $5,945,201,  had  been 

3-1  I 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

contracted  within  three  years.  The  large  sum  of  $3,928,117  was 
either  due  or  would  be  within  a  few  months.  This  sum  must  be 
met,  but  whether  besides  doing  so  the  public  improvements  should 
go  on  was  another  question.  If  they  were  to  be  continued, 
Ritner  had  regarded  the  following  as  the  most  useful :  Erie  ex- 
tension, $500,000 ;  North  Branch  canal,  $500,000 ;  Gettysburg  rail- 
road, $300,000;  West  Branch  canal,  $200,000;  Wiconisco  canal, 
$100,000;  Allegheny  feeder,  $100,000.  The  canal  commissioners 
had  recommended  $1,200,000  for  each  of  the  first  two  objects, 
doubled  the  Governor's  recommendation  for  the  Gettysburg  rail- 
road and  Allegheny  feeder,  recommended  $286,000  for  the  Wic- 
onisco canal  and  $300,000  for  the  Sinnemahoning  extension. 
The  commissioners  also  recommended  an  appropriation  of 
$1,256,467  "as  necessary  for  the  permanent  repair  and  prosperity 
of  the  improvements."  Though  in  favor  of  a  judicious  and  com- 
prehensive system  of  public  improvements,  the  Governor  sug- 
gested to  the  legislature  the  impolicy  of  applying  the  funds  of 
the  Commonwealth  at  the  present  time  to  any  other  work  than 
the  main  lines  and  their  immediate  tributaries.  How  did  the 
Assembly  respond  to  these  recommendations?  It  appropriated 
sums  varying  from  $500  to  $10,000  for  roads  and  bridges  all  over 
the  State,  including  $3,000  to  the  Mechanics'  society  at  Lancaster. 
After  repeating  his  faith  in  the  main  scheme  of  internal  improve- 
ments, he  said :  "Influenced  by  unfortunate  causes  and  counsels, 
the  legislature  of  the  State  has  recently  tended  to  distract  the 
attention  and  divide  the  means  of  the  public  by  the  prosecution  of 
various  undertakings  unconnected  with  the  main  lines  and  in 
many  instances  wholly  for  the  benefit  of  private  companies ;  thus 
placing  the  public  means  under  their  unlimited  control,  when  the 
faith  of  the  commonwealth  was  already  pledged  to  apply  its 
resources  to  the  completion  of  its  own  works  and  to  the  payment 
of  its  own  liabilities.  It  is  manifest  at  a  glance  that  just  so  far 
as  the  original  system  has  been  departed  from,  so  far  has  the 
system  itself  been  retarded,  and  the  public  money  has  been  squan- 


Charles   Cornwallis 


Earl,  afterward  Marquis;  British  general;  occu- 
pied Philadelphia,  1777;  surrendered  his  army 
at  Yorktown  to  Washington,    1781 


PORTER'S    .ADMINISTRATION 

dered  upon  unproductive  objects.  It  has  only  been  within  the 
last  few  years  that  this  infraction  of  the  internal  improvement 
system  has  been  carried  to  the  greatest  extent.  To  a  person  not 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  facts  it  would  be  a  question  not 
easy  to  solve,  from  an  examination  of  the  recent  appropriation 
bills,  whether  the  main  lines  of  our  impro\-ements  were  ])rose- 
cuted  on  account  of  their  own  intrinsic  importance,  or  merely  as 
pretext  for  lavishing-  upon  numberless  other  subordinate  objects 
millions  of  dollars  of  the  money  of  the  people.  In  some  instances, 
as  in  that  of  the  bill  under  consideration,  the  appropriations  to 
secondary  objects  have  been  made  first,  while  the  appropriations 
to  the  main  lines  have  thus  far  failed  entirely.  It  will  be  but  one 
step  farther  in  the  departure  from  the  original  system  to  drop  the 
main  lines  altogether  and  henceforth  disperse  the  treasures  of  the 
Commonwealth  among  incorporated  companies,  local  prejudices, 
local  interest  and  expert  bargaining  to  secure  in  the  general 
scramble  the  largest  share  of  the  public  money." 

The  remark  of  the  board  of  canal  commissioners  that  a  million 
and  a  half  dollars  were  needed  to  render  the  canals  "adequate  to 
transact  the  business  which  may  and  should  be  done  upon  them," 
led  to  a  legislative  investigation,  and  the  committee  found  that 
"the  amount  required  for  repairs  was  greatly  exaggerated."  The 
committee  could  not  overlook  the  fact  that  in  the  late  reports  made 
by  the  engineer,  occasion  seemed  to  be  taken  and  a  disposition 
was  strongly  manifested  to  swell  the  estimates  to  an  unreasonable 
amount.  This  circumstance,  taken  in  connection  with  some  ex- 
pressions used  by  the  canal  commissioners,  evinces  an  earnest 
desire  to  create  an  impression  upon  the  public  mind  that  under 
the  late  administration  the  public  improvements  had  been 
neglected,  and  had  suffered  from  the  want  of  timely  repairs.  Of 
such  negligence  the  committee  found  no  evidence.  The  com- 
mittee deprecated  the  introduction  of  anything  like  political  or 
party  feeling  in  the  prosecution  or  management  of  our  internal 
improvement  system,  but  the  inference  was  too  glaring  to  escape 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

observation,  and  too  palpable  to  be  permitted  to  pass  unrebuked. 
The  committee  then  proceeded  to  show  in  detail  how  greatly  the 
estimate  made  by  the  board  for  repairs  surpassed  what  a  liberal 
policy  demanded.  The  plot  now  thickens  and  henceforth  our 
legislative  records  are  full  of  the  story  of  internal  improvements, 
which  for  several  years  overshadows  all  others.  There  was  a  vast 
amount  of  floating  indebtedness  to  be  paid  off  that  was  affecting 
the  credit  of  the  State.  Party  politics,  too,  was  playing  havoc 
with  all  the  appointments.  Appropriations  were  irregularly  made 
and  all  work  was  fitfully  done,  costing  far  more  than  it  would  if 
made  in  a  regular  manner.  One  of  the  investigations  relating  to 
the  Gettysburg  railroad  may  be  briefly  described.  It  was  a 
parallel  line  to  the  main  works  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  if 
completed  would  have  diverted  trade  from  Pennsylvania  to  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  road.  A  road  was  to  be  built  from  Columbia 
to  Gettysburg  and  then  there  would  be  a  through  line  to  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio.  The  committee  remarked  that  of  all  the  works 
of  doubtful  expediency  constructed  by  the  State,  there  was  none 
so  useless,  so  expensive  or  of  as  little  value  as  this.  It  was  com- 
menced by  fraud  and  intrigue  and  will  end  in  disgrace  and  loss 
to  the  Commonwealth.  The  road  was  to  cost  $77,340  per  mile, 
nearly  double  as  much  as  any  other  road  at  that  time  built  in  the 
country.  Six  sections  which  were  estimated  to  cost  $37,660  had 
cost  $99,181.  Sections  had  been  relet  at  greatly  advanced  prices 
to  the  old  contractors,  without  abandoning  the  former  contracts 
or  stopping  work  under  them,  or  without  advertising  for  pro- 
posals. Politics  had,  indeed,  played  its  disastrous  part.  During 
the  election  of  1838  those  who  were  conducting  the  works  inter- 
fered in  the  pending  election  for  Governor.  The  superintendent 
raised  the  contractors'  prices  by  a  connivance  at  the  provisions 
and  injunctions  of  the  law,  and  the  contractors  in  turn  taxed  the 
men  engaged  upon  the  work  as  laborers  large  proportionate 
amounts  of  their  hard  earnings  to  bet  upon  Mr.  Ritner's  election, 
and  to  bear  the  electioneering  expenses.     In  some  cases  this  sys- 


PORTER'S   ADMINISTRATION 

tern  of  oppression  and  robbery  was  resisted  and  the  money  col- 
lected by  an  appeal  to  the  law. 

When  Governor  Porter  came  to  have  a  knowledge  of  the 
pnblic  improvements  his  zeal  for  them  greatly  cooled.  He  de- 
clared in  his  first  annual  message  that  it  was  incumbent  on  him 
to  exhibit  the  actual  productiveness  of  our  internal  improvements 
in  a  light  somewhat  less  flattering  than  that  in  which  it  had  usually 
appeared.  .  .  .  "It  had  been  customary  to  state  the  gross 
amount  of  tolls  derived  from  the  canals  and  railroads  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  convey  the  impression  that  they  yielded  that  sum 
clear  of  all  deductions  for  management  and  repairs.  The  con- 
stant yearly  increase  of  tolls  had  served  as  a  powerful  stimulant 
to  the  prosecution  and  extension  of  the  entire  system  of  our  im- 
provements. Men  of  sanguine  feelings  had  confidently  looked 
forward  to  an  early  day  on  which  the  tolls  arising  from  our 
improvements  would  not  only  pay  the  interest  on  the  whole  State 
debt,  but  yield,  in  addition,  a  large  surplus  to  be  applied  to  the 
extinguishment  of  the  principal.  Local  interest  and  ardent  public 
enterprise  readily  concurred  in  this  opinion.  We  had  embarked 
in  the  system  too  deeply,  both  in  pecuniary  investments,  and  in 
a  State  pride,  to  turn  back.  The  great  undertaking  must  g'o 
through ;  we  had  pledged  our  faith,  our  firmness  and  our  ability 
to  that  effect,  and  we  gathered  hope  and  confidence  wherever 
they  could  be  found.  It  is  not  surprising  therefore,  that  our 
governors,  legislators  and  people  have  deceived  themselves  and 
deceived  each  other  in  pursuit  of  the  favorite  object.  It  forms  no 
just  ground  of  censure  against  the  active  supporters  of  our  system 
of  internal  improvements  that  they  have  fallen  short,  far  short,  of 
public  expectation,  in  the  amount  of  revenue  they  aflforded.  The 
time  may  perhaps  arise,  at  no  very  distant  day,  when  the  increase 
of  our  population,  business  and  wealth  will  enable  us  to  realize  the 
flattering  anticipations  of  the  early  friends  of  the  system." 

The  income  from  tolls  and  motive  power  for  1835  had  been 
$684,357;  repairs  and  cost  of  motive  power,  $431,626.      1836, 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

income  $671,849;  repairs,  $551,024.  1837,  income,  $975,350; 
repairs,  $883,516.  1838,  income,  $966,029;  repairs,  $1,069,657; 
debts  due,  $275,000;  deficit,  $378,628.  1839,  income,  $1,101,904; 
repairs,  $656,460. 

Thus  the  State  made  a  poor  showing  as  a  builder  and  manager 
of  canals  and  railroads.  Those  in  charge  had  covered  up  the 
truth,  and  the  public  had  been  fooled  into  believing  that  the 
improvements  paid.  As  long  as  the  people  were  not  taxed  they 
did  not  care.  The  State,  instead  of  paying,  kept  borrowing  and 
telling  the  people  that  eventually  enough  would  come  from  the 
works  to  pay  all  expenses,  interest,  and  the  debt  itself.  The 
time  was  rapidly  coming  when  the  truth  would  be  known  and 
the  people  be  compelled  to  foot  the  bill.  Indeed,  the  time  had 
now  come  when  the  Governor  had  to  tell  a  part  of  the  truth.  "The 
affairs  of  the  Commonwealth,"  he  said,  in  his  message  of  1840, 
"have  been  for  several  years  gradually  verging  on  towards  deeper 
and  deeper  embarrassment,  until  we  have  at  length  reached  this 
unexpected  deficiency  of  funds  in  the  treasury  to  meet  the  de- 
mands upon  it.  The  people  have  been  told  again  and  again  that 
our  fiscal  condition  was  flourishing  and  prosperous,  while  in  fact 
our  prosperity  was  all  based  on  paper  calculations  and  loans,  which 
we  are  just  now  beginning  to  perceive  bear  interest,  and  are  some 
day  to  be  paid."  The  sale  of  the  public  property  was  imprac- 
ticable and  the  Governor  was  firmly  opposed  to  more  loans.  Tax- 
ation, therefore,  was  the  only  expedient. 

Accordingly,  on  the  nth  of  June,  1840,  a  tax  "to  create  addi- 
tional revenue  to  be  applied  towards  the  payment  of  interest  and 
the  extinguishment  of  the  debts  of  the  Commonwealth,"  which 
was  to  bring  in  $600,000  annually,  was  imposed.  It  was  to  be 
collected  for  five  years.  Its  advocates  believed  that  the  sum  thus 
raised,  together  with  other  resources,  would  "probably  liquidate 
the  interest  account  w'ithout  further  resort  to  loans  for  that  pur- 
pose." It  provided  "such  a  rate  for  the  assessment  of  taxes  as 
to  fall  with  o-entle  weigfht  on  those  who  are  little  able  to  bear  anv 


PORTER'S   ADMINISTRATION 

addition  to  their  expenses."  The  articles  taxed  were  those  purely 
of  luxury,  gold  watches,  pleasure  carriages,  household  furniture 
exceeding  in  value  $300,  together  with  bonds,  bills,  and  notes  of 
solvent  obligors,  bank  stock,  or  stock  in  other  corporations,  yield- 
ing dividends  of  at  least  one  per  cent.,  salaries  of  public  officers 
and  real  estate.  Although  this  act  undoubtedly  operated  with 
some  hardship  upon  those  who  fell  within  its  provisions,  still  they 
did  not  suffer  much,  for  they  did  not  belong  to  the  poorer  classes. 
Governor  Porter  defended  his  scheme  of  taxation  in  his  next 
message.  He  said  :  "I  recommended  taxation ;  that  recommend- 
ation was  adopted  by  the  legislature  and  it  is  a  source  of  proud 
gratification  to  me  when  I  consider  that  the  people  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, almost  to  a  man,  so  far  as  I  have  been  informed,  with  a 
firmness  and  patriotism  worthy  of  themselves,  have  yielded  to 
this  necessity  without  murmur  or  repining.  I  feel  fully  con- 
vinced that  at  the  expiration  of  the  five  years  at  farthest,  with  a 
reasonable  degree  of  prudence,  and  with  strict  economy  in  the 
management  of  our  affairs,  the  income  of  our  improvements  will 
render  renewal  of  this  law  wholly  unnecessary." 

Still,  all  did  not  pay  the  taxes  so  willingly.  The  Governor 
had  presented  a  too  rosy  view.  Indeed,  his  own  language  be- 
trayed the  truth.  "If,"  he  said,  "any  difference  of  opinion  exists 
as  to  the  necessity  of  this  tax,  let  these  questions  be  answered  by 
those  objecting.  Does  not  Pennsylvania  owe  this  debt?  Is  she 
not  morally  and  legally  bound  to  pay  it  and  its  interest  as  it  falls 
due?  Can  they  point  out  any  other  mode  by  which  this  can  be 
done?"  At  that  time  no  tax  had  yet  been  collected.  The  act 
was  amended  in  various  ways  in  1841  to  make  it  more  palatable. 
The  county  commissioners  were  delinquent  and  some  of  them 
made  no  returns,  consequently  the  Governor  was  quite  unable  to 
give  the  legislature  much  information  on  the  subject,  except  that 
only  a  small  amount  of  taxes  had  been  collected.  This  was  not 
strong  proof  that  the  people  were  willing  to  pay  and  to  save  the 
State  credit.     The  Governor  talked  well,  declared  that  the  debt 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

must  be  paid,  and  that  taxes  must  be  imposed.  On  this  subject 
there  was,  he  said,  no  diversity  of  opinion  among  the  great  mass 
of  the  citizens  of  the  State.  All  agree  that  whenever  the  consti- 
tuted authorities  of  the  Commonwealth  have  entered  into  engage- 
ments conformably  to  the  constitution  and  laws,  whether  these 


Member  of  Assembly,  1764;  the  Colonial  Con- 
gress, 1765;  and  the  first  Continental  Congress, 
1774;  commissioned  brigadier-general,  1777; 
member  Federal  Constitutional  Convention; 
founder  Dickinson  college,  Carlisle,  1783; 
president  of  Supreme  Executive  Council,  1782- 
178s 

engagements  have  been  characterized  by  due  prudence  and  a 
proper  regard  to  the  interests  of  the  public  or  not,  the  honor  of 
the  State,  the  permanence  of  our  republican  institutions,  and  a 
sacred  regard  to  the  sanctity  of  public  engagements,  require  that 
the  resources  of  the  Commonwealth  and  the  energies  of  her 
citizens  be  put  in  requisition  to  meet  her  public  engagements 
promptly,  punctually,  and  unhesitatingly.     But  the  uncomfortable 


POR  TER'S   A  DM  IN  IS  T  RATI  ON 

fact  is,  if  they  thought  so,  they  set  their  grood  intentions  aside  by 
not  paying  their  taxes.  They  were  strangely  delinquent  for  a 
people  who  believed  in  maintaining  the  faith  of  the  State.  They 
were  more  interested  in  escaping  the  payment  of  their  taxes, 
which  would  save  the  honor  of  the  State,  than  in  preserving  it  at 
a  slight  sacrifice,  perhaps,  to  themselves. 

Another  remedy  was  to  sell  the  State  stocks,  railroads  and 
canals.  This  was  intimated  by  the  Governor  in  his  first  message 
in  1840,  especially  the  sale  of  the  bank  stocks.  There  were  two 
strong  reasons  for  doing  this;  they  would  bring  a  good  price, 
yield  some  much-needed  money,  and  again  the  State  would 
thereby  be  divorced  from  the  banks.  Once  more  they  had  sus- 
pended specie  payments  and  were  discredited  institutions.  "The 
interest  of  the  State,"  said  the  State  treasurer,  A.  H.  Read,  in 
1 841,  "as  a  banker  is  necessarily  subjected  to  all  the  fluctuations, 
suspensions,  and  explosions  of  the  present  miserably  defective 
system.  The  aid  and  countenance  accorded  to  suspended  banks, 
in  virtue  of  a  partnership  with  the  Commonwealth,  naturally 
tends  to  lower  the  standard  of  morals  in  the  community,  to  de- 
press the  character  of  the  State  for  high  moral  sentiment,  and  to 
impress  a  withering  stain  upon  our  national  escutcheon.  The 
only  objection  ever  made  to  the  sale  of  these  stocks  is,  they  are 
productive.  This  is  not  even  a  plausible  objection.  They  are 
productive  stocks,  and  therefore  will  command  a  fair  price  in  the 
market,  with  the  advantage  of  a  prompt  and  ready  sale,  and  hence 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  pressing  exigencies  of  an  exhausted 
treasury.  Even  were  it  morally  honest,  under  other  circum- 
stances, to  continue  a  partnership  with  suspended  banks,  it  cannot 
be  right,  when  the  public  creditor,  who  has  confided  in  the  faith 
and  honor  of  the  State,  is  daily  knocking  at  your  treasury  in 
vain."  The  productive  character  of  this  investment  of  the  peo- 
\)\es  money  is  not  a  legitimate  argument,  because  governments 
are  instituted  for  specific  purposes,  and  not  at  liberty  to  engage  in 
any  and  every  pursuit  which  may  present  the  stimulus  of  large 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

profits.  If  admitted  as  an  argument,  it  would  prove  too  much ; 
it  would  justify  the  Commonwealth  in  commencing  the  manu- 
facture of  leather  and  iron,  and  in  growing  silk  and  wool,  or  any 
other  husiness  of  equal  profits  with  that  of  banking.  What  would 
be  the  conduct  of  a  prudent  individual  in  like  circumstances? 
His  credit  exhausted,  his  notes  at  a  discount,  further  loans  re- 
fused, no  means  of  paying  interest  on  his  accumulated  debts,  large 
investments  previously  made  in  reference  to  his  principal  business 
lying  dead  and  unproductive  for  the  want  of  a  small  additional 
sum,  would  he  hesitate?  Would  he  not  instantly  part  with  his 
bank  stocks  to  relieve  his  embarrassment  and  put  his  affairs  in  a 
prosperous  condition.  I  am  not  aware  of  any  other  resource  for 
the  payment  of  interest  on  February  i  but  the  sale  of  a  portion 
of  these  stocks."  The  Governor  also  recommended  at  the  same 
time  the  sale  of  the  motive  power  on  the  State  railroads,  including 
locomotive  engines,  cars,  tenders,  workshops,  engine-houses, 
depots,  wells,  water-power,  sheds,  mechanical  instruments,  aud 
all  other  appurtenances  of  motive  power. 

In  Governor  Porter's  first  message  he  strongly  urged  a  separa- 
tion of  the  State  and  banking  institutions.  He  said :  "The  asso- 
ciation of  private  individuals  with  the  State  in  banking  institu- 
tions results  almost  entirely  to  the  advantage  of  the  former. 
Whatever  hopes  may  have  been  founded  on  such  association  by 
the  legislature,  that  the  banks  thus  owned  would  be  at  all  times 
ready  to  aid  the  Commonwealth,  have  been  illusory.  Although  the 
State  owns  3,750  shares  of  stock  in  the  Pennsylvania  bank,  5,233 
shares  in  the  Philadelphia  bank,  and  1,708  shares  in  the  Farmers' 
and  Mechanics"  bank,  yet  she  has  not  such  a  share  in  the  direction 
of  either  as  to  control  any  of  their  proceedings,  and  derives  no 
benefit  from  llie  ])artnership.  Her  capital  is  used  by  her  indi- 
x'idual  associates  for  purposes  of  private  gain  and  speculation, 
and  the  Commonwealth,  when  she  wants  money,  is  compelled  to 
look  elsewhere.  1,  therefore,  recommend  the  ])assage  of  a  law 
authorizing  the  sale  of  the  State's  stock  in   srn'd  banks,  at  such 


PORTER'S    ADMINISTRATION 

time  and  in  such  manner  as  will  yield  the  greatest  amount  to  the 
State;  or,  if  it  be  found  that  such  sale  cannot  be  made  without 
too  great  a  sacrifice,  owing  to  adverse  circumstances  or  other 
causes,  that  authority  be  given  to  declare  their  charters  annulled 
and  to  divide  the  assets  among  the  State  and  private  stockhold- 
ers." 

Never  did  sounder  reasons  exist  for  selling  public  property, 
yet  the  legislature  refused  to  give  the  Governor  authority  to  sell, 
bid  the  banks  oppose  the  sale  of  them?  Did  they  fear  that  they 
would  decline  in  value  by  the  sale  of  such  a  large  quantity,  or  by 
the  retirement  of  the  State  as  a  shareholder?  Whatever  the 
reasons  might  have  been  the  stocks  began  to  decline.  And  still 
the  legislature  declined  to  sell,  though  the  value  of  the  stocks  was 
depreciating  and  the  credit  of  the  State  was  sinking  still  lower. 
Although  the  bankruptcy  of  the  State  was  staring  the  Governor 
in  the  face,  and  he  was  putting  forth  his  best  efforts  to  save  its 
credit,  he  continued  to  urge  the  completion  of  the  public  improve- 
ments. If  they  were  not,  various  enterprises  would  be  revived ; 
if  they  were,  it  was  doubtful  if  they  would  pay  much.  These  were 
the  North  Branch  extension  from  Lackawanna  to  the  New  York 
line,  to  connect  there  with  the  New  York  system;  the  Erie  exten- 
sion from  Greenville  to  Erie  harbor,  and  the  Wiconisco  canal  from 
Duncan's  island  to  Wiconisco  creek,  and  a  short  road  to  avoid 
an  inclined  plane  at  Columbia.  In  1840  v$3,322,333  had  been 
spent  on  these  and  v$4,553,503  were  needed  to  finish  them  ;  and  the 
Governor  urged  their  completion,  notwithstanding  their  doubtful 
utility.  The  Gettysburg  railroad  was  dead,  for  all  time;  that 
sink  was  finally  closed,  but  the  time  had  not  quite  come  for  ex- 
tinguishing the  rest  of  these  ill-conceived  enterprises.  The  true 
policy,  so  Governor  Porter  thought,  was  to  finish  these  and  build 
no  more.  The  State  treasurer  in  1841  still  declared  that  the 
policy  heretofore  pursued  of  negotiating  loans  for  the  construc- 
tion of  our  public  works,  thereby  stimulating  industry,  maintain- 
ing the  character  and  dignity  of  the  State,  and  placing  us  in  the 

13 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

front  rank  in  the  march  of  improvement,  is  in  the  main  approved, 
that  the  pubhc  debt  is  a  matter  of  regret  only  in  so  far  as  the 
fruits  thereof  have  been  recklessly  squandered  on  local  projects. 
But  a  public  debt  should  always  be  limited  by  the  amount  of  avail- 
able resources.     There  w^as  a  point,  however,  beyond  which  that 


Jesuit  Mission  Relic 

The  illustration  shows  the  obverse  and   reverse 
sides  of  a  cross  which   is  one  of  several   relics 
found  on  the  north  side  of  the  West  Branch  of 
the   Susquehanna  river  about  one  mile   west  of 
Great     Island.     The    original    of    the    above    is 
owned  by  Dudley  H.  Martin,  the  finder.     These 
crucifixes   were   probably  given   the    Indians   by 
Jesuit   missionaries.     An    unauthenticated    story 
tells  of  a  mission  where   Evangeline,   immortal- 
ized  by   Longfellow,   stopped   in   search   for   her 
lover,    which,   if   true,   might  explain   the   many 
relics  found  in  the   locality.      To  give  further  color  to  the  story,  a  warrant  of   land  near  by 
was   taken  out  in   1794    by    Robert   Ritchey  and   named  Acadia,  which   name  it  still  retains 
Photographed  especially  for  this  work  by  C.  Alex.  Shempp 


policy  should  be  abandoned,  and  that  point  in  Pennsylvania  had 
already  been  reached.  The  credit  of  the  Commonwealth  had 
been  pushed  to  its  utmost  limit  and  any  further  effort  to  extend 
it  would,  if  successful,  sever  the  cords  of  our  social  compact,  part 
us  from  the  anchor  of  our  hope,  and  wreck  us  in  the  gulf  of  State 
bankruptcy.  The  system  of  loans  was  at  an  end.  The  source 
of  revenue  had  failed ;  that  fountain  had  become  dry ;  we  could 
not,  if  we  would,  obtain  further  loans.  The  tax  law  of  the  last 
session,  contrary  to  expectation,  had  failed  to  revive  our  waning 
credit;  our  stocks  continued  to  decline  in  the  market.  The  eagle- 
eyed  capitalist,  comparing  our  resources  with  the  liabilities  in- 
curred, refused  to  receive  them,  and  if  not  from  an  enlightened 
policy,  from  imperative  necessity,  we  must  change  our  mode  of 


14 


PORTER'S    ADMINISTRATION 

action;  we  nuist  have  recourse  to  our  vendible  and  available  re- 
sources for  the  completion  of  our  splendid  system  of  internal 
improvements.  At  last  the  borrowing  power  was  exhausted, 
while  the  people  who  were  so  willing  to  come  to  the  rescue  and 
save  the  declining  credit  of  the  State  by  paying  their  taxes  were 
scarce.  But  was  there  no  income  from  their  gigantic  system  of 
canals  and  other  modes  of  transportation  ?  Nearly  twenty  years 
had  expired  since  beginning  them,  and  it  was  quite  time  that  some 
revenue  should  come  from  them  unless  this  was  to  utterly  fail. 

The  main  line  of  improvements,  though  built  at  a  cost  far 
greater  than  to  a  private  individual,  would  have  paid  a  handsome 
profit  if  it  had  been  managed  by  the  State  after  its  completion. 
But  individuals  who  are  always  alert  to  make  a  fortune  quickly 
stepped  in  and  undertook  to  use  the  means  of  transportation  thus 
prepared  for  their  own  gain,  and  so  the  State  reaped  no  profit 
from  its  undertaking.  It  had  simply  prepared  a  splendid  way 
for  a  fresh  set  of  individuals  to  reap  great  fortunes  at  the  expense 
of  other  people  of  the  State.  But  others  besides  them  profited. 
The  contractors  and  employees  were  legion  and  their  claims 
against  the  State  were  innumerable.  If  a  contractor  bid  far  below 
another  and  less  than  he  ought,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  go  on  with 
his  work,  confident  that  the  legislature  would  reimburse  him  in 
the  end.  Such  a  method  destroyed  the  whole  force  and  effect 
of  competition  in  bidding  for  contracts,  because  the  contractor  did 
not  care  how  low  he  took  the  contract,  provided  he  had  some 
assurance  that  the  legislature  would  remunerate  him  "and  which 
he  had  a  strong  assurance  they  would  do  from  the  legislation  of 
the  last  few  years  on  the  subject." 

A  few  dissatisfied  contractors  and  others  imposed  on  the  cre- 
dulity and  stimulated  the  ambition  of  some  member  of  the  leg- 
islature to  offer  a  petition  complaining  of  public  grievances.  A 
committee  to  investigate  was  appointed,  subpoenas  were  issued, 
and  straightway  swarms  of  hungry  confederates  repaired  to  the 
seat  of  government  to  prosecute  their  claims  before  the  legis- 

15 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

latiire.  to  lounge  at  the  public  expense  and  join  in  a  wholesale 
pillage  of  the  treasury.  In  the  close  of  the  session  the  com- 
mittee reports,  "the  witnesses  return  to  their  homes  and  laugh 
at  the  trick  as  they  pocket  the  spoils."  A  large  portion  of  the 
legislative  expenses  is  incurred  in  this  way.  The  extraordinary 
increase  of  these  expenses,  over  those  of  all  other  departments 
of  the  government,  has  been  of  late  years  a  matter  of  just  com- 
plaint. At  last,  in  1842,  the  Governor  began  to  think  it  was  time 
for  the  State  to  retire  from  the  transportation  business.  He  had 
reached  this  conclusion  with  respect  to  banking  business  before 
he  became  Governor,  but  it  needed  some  more  hard  experience 
of  sham  contracts,  worthless  officials,  and  a  lack  of  income  to 
convince  him  that  the  State  was  not  prepared  to  build  and  manage 
canals  and  railroads.  The  story  of  trying  to  complete  the  North 
Branch  and  Erie  extension  canals  was  disheartening.  They  had 
cost  far  more  than  the  estimates ;  the  contractors  had  taken  all 
they  could  get  and  serenely  continued  to  work,  confident  that  the 
legislature  would  amply  compensate  them  for  their  patriotic  en- 
deavors to  complete  the  canals  after  the  commissioners  were 
unable  to  supply  any  more  funds.  Notwithstanding  all  this  the 
Governor  hesitated  to  call  a  halt.  One  reason,  and  a  potent  one, 
was  that  contractors  would  have  a  new  class  of  claims  for 
remuneration  for  the  losses  sustained  by  the  State's  abandonment 
of  its  work.  "Contractors  who  have  gone  on  to  the  work,  and 
perhaps  executed  the  least  profitable  part  of  it,  will  have  fair 
claims  on  the  justice  of  the  legislature  for  remuneration  for  the 
losses  they  have  sustained  by  an  abandonment  of  the  work  by  the 
State."  "Judging  from  the  success  which  usually  crowns  per- 
severance in  similar  applications  before  the  legislature,  there  can 
be  but  little  doubt  that  this  class  of  claimants  will  not  go  away 
unanswered  and  unsatisfied."  The  Governor  declared  that  if  the 
State  were  out  of  debt  he  would  not  favor  selling  the  transporta- 
tion lines,  but,  oppressed  as  the  State  was,  its  credit  gone,  unable 
to  borrow  any  more,  he  proposed  to  sell  the  Columbia  railroad 

16 


PORTER'S    ADMINISTRATION 

and  the  Delaware  division  of  the  Pennsylvania  canal.  A  little 
later  he  was  ready  to  sell  all ;  and  public  opinion  was  moving  in 
the  same  direction. 

We  may  now  turn  to  other  matters.  In  October,  1839,  most 
of  the  banks  in  Philadelphia  suspended  specie  payments,  and 
those  in  other  parts  of  the  State  followed  their  example.  The 
banks  generally  throughout  the  Union  did  likewise,  except  those 
of  New  York  city.  The  suspension  came  as  a  surprise  to  the 
public,  paralyzed  business  and  shook  public  and  private  credit. 
From  all  classes  of  the  community,  save  those  alone  who  were 
interested  in  banks,  was  heard  a  loud  and  deep  condemnation  of 
the  measure.  Innumerable  remedies  were  suggested,  some  look- 
ing to  the  regulation  of  these  institutions,  others  to  their  pun- 
ishment and  extirpation,  and  the  Governor  was  besought  to  con- 
vene the  legislature  at  an  earlier  day  to  consider  measures  for 
relieving  the  banks  and  the  people.  There  were  at  that  time  fifty- 
two  banks  in  the  State,  with  an  aggregate  capital  of  about  sixty 
million  dollars.  Some  had  been  so  disregardful  of  the  law  con- 
cerning returns  as  to  make  no  returns,  or  such  imperfect  ones 
that  it  was  impossible  to  arrive  at  anything  like  accuracy  in  the 
amount  of  their  circulations,  specie,  or  debts  due  to  them.  Their 
notes  in  circulation  amounted  to  thirty-three  million  dollars  and 
the  amounts  due  to  them  perhaps  seventy  millions.  "Stocks  in 
our  railroads,  canals,  turnpikes,  etc.,  were  held  by  some  of  these 
banks,  and  in  the  shape  of  subscriptions,  bonuses  or  dividends, 
they  contributed  largely  to  the  general  fund  in  the  State  treasury, 
and  to  the  support  of  the  common  school  system.  Their  charters 
expired  at  various  periods  between  that  time  and  1870,  and 
the  stock  in  them  was  owned  by  a  great  number  of  persons  of  all 
ages,  classes,  conditions  and  pecuniary  means.  The  capitalists  of 
the  country,  as  well  as  those  of  moderate  means,  widows,  orphans 
and  guardians,  all  own  stock  in  our  several  banking  institutions." 
Thus  the  business  interests  and  banking  institutions  were  inti- 
mately connected  together  and  mutually  exerted  a  powerful  in- 

3-^  17 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

fluence  on  each  other.  From  one  point  of  view  there  was  a 
marked  difference  in  the  condition  of  the  people  at  this  time  from 
what  it  was  in  1816-18.  Then,  as  now,  the  country  was  flooded 
with  foreign  goods,  which  low  duties,  and  credit  upon  those 
duties,  enabled  foreigners  to  introduce  and  then  create  a  large 
debt  abroad.  Then,  as  now,  the  banking  capital,  banking  facili- 
ties, and  bank  issues  were  increased  beyond  what  the  necessities 
of  the  country  for  the  healthful  transaction  of  its  business  re- 
quired. Then  the  spirit  of  speculation  had  infected  the  agricul- 
tural as  well  as  other  portions  of  the  community ;  now,  hcnvever. 
the  farmers  were  generally  out  of  debt  and  liourishing;  the  mer- 
cantile and  manufacturing  classes  were  the  principal  sufferers  by 
an  undue  expansion  of  the  credit  system.  A  large  amount  was 
due  abroad,  borrowed  for  creating  banks,  canals,  railroads,  and 
other  purposes,  and  also  by  the  State.  The  banks  had  acted  as 
the  brokers  on  a  large  scale  in  negotiating  the  State  loans  with 
foreign  capitalists.  But  the  legislatures  of  the  several  States  had 
created  the  loans,  and  were  therefore  responsible  for  furnishing 
the  chief  aliment  in  feeding  the  credit  system.  It  was  no  doubt 
true  that  the  inordinate  increase  of  banks  in  late  years  had  been 
partly  produced  by  the  immense  accumulation  of  State  credits 
and  had,  in  some  degree,  stimulated  the  action  of  the  legislatures 
of  the  several  States  by  affording  agents  to  negotiate  and  cus- 
tomers to  consume  the  avails  of  the  stock  when  negotiated. 

Until  within  the  last  year  the  State  had  been  able  to  borrow 
money  without  difficulty  on  State  stocks  in  Europe  and  to  pay 
llie  interest  arising  in  former  loans  by  new  ones.  The  people 
felt  no  inconvenience  from  this  inflated  system  of  credits  and 
seldom  reflected  that  a  day  of  reckoning  would  come,  when  the 
State  could  then  pay  debts  no  longer.  States,  banks,  corpora- 
tions, and  individuals  all  moved  forward  in  harmonious  union, 
borrowing  all  they  could  and  wherever  they  could,  without  refer- 
ence to  their  future  ability  and  means  of  repayment.  The  delu- 
sion was  over  at  last.      State  stocks  were  unsalable,  a  drug  in 


PORTER'S    ADMINISTRATION 

foreign  markets,  and  the  State  was  asked  to  pay  the  interest  on 
its  permanent  loans,  and  had  no  means  of  paying  unless  specie  was 
exported,  "except  to  rely  on  the  remote  avails  of  our  agricultural 
production?  or  dispose  of  more  State  stock,  at  a  ruinous  sacrifice." 
The  legislature  took  the  matter  in  hand  and  attempted  to  pre- 
scribe a  remedy.  So  strongly  entrenched  were  the  banks  in  the 
Assembly,  there  v\hs  no  danger  of  the  passage  of  any  of  the  Gov- 
ernor's stern  recommendations.  On  the  3d  of  April,  it  was  re- 
solved that  the  banks  which  did  not  pay  on  demand  all  their  notes, 
bills,  deposits  and  other  liabilities  in  gold  or  silver  coin  should 
forfeit  their  charters.  The  Governor  in  his  next  message  stated 
that  though  the  day  fixed  for  resuming  specie  payments  was  more 
remote  than  he  wished  at  the  time,  yet  the  period  of  indulgence 
had  nearly  passed  away  and  there  was  good  ground  to  believe 
that  the  banks  would  be  prepared  to  discharge  their  liabilities  in 
specie.  Should  they  do  so,  by  continuing  strictly  to  observe  the 
law  and  fulfilling  the  just  expectations  of  the  public,  they  might 
regain  the  confidence  they  had  lost,  and  especially  if  they  adopted 
better  regulations.  One  of  the  most  immediate  advantages  re- 
sulting to  the  community  from  the  resumption  of  specie  payments 
would  be  the  entire  expulsion  from  circulation  of  the  illegitimate 
brood  of  small  notes  that  had  been  poured  in  from  the  neighboring 
States  on  all  sides  in  defiance  of  law  and  of  the  most  active  en- 
fleavors  to  suppress  them.  We  could  conclude  without  recom- 
mending that  no  increase  of  banking  capital  be  made  under  any 
circumstances,  and  that  effectual  provision  be  made  by  law  that  if 
any  bank  should  at  any  time  hereafter  suspend  specie  payments 
it  should  be,  ipso  facto,  a  forfeiture  of  its  charter.  Nothing  short 
of  an  absolute  and  unconditional  provision  of  this  kind  could 
arrest  the  frequent  over-issues  by  the  banks,  induced  by  the  inor- 
dinate cupidity  of  those  under  whose  directions  they  may  be  con- 
ducted. But  the  Governor's  hopes  were  not  to  be  realized.  The 
greatest  irregularity  still  prevailed  in  the  currency.  There  was 
not  much  of  that  wretched,  illegal  trash  in  circulation  which  dur- 

19 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

ing  the  early  part  of  the  last  six  years  had  infected  all  sections  of 
the  Commonwealth  in  the  forms  of  notes,  checks,  certificates,  etc., 
of  corporations  and  individuals  for  small  sums,  put  forth  without 
lawful  authority  and  in  spite  of  the  prohibition  of  law,  but  there 
was  still  a  large  amount  of  notes  in  circulation,  ostensibly  legal, 
and  purporting  to  be  of  equal  value,  because  founded  on  the  faith 
of  the  State,  by  whatever  bank  issued,  and  yet,  notwithstanding 
this  fact,  discredited  and  repudiated  by  the  very  institutions  for 
whose  benefit  and  relief  they  were  authorized  to  be  issued. 

In  1 84 1  the  legislature  authorized  the  banks  to  issue  notes 
below  $5  to  the  amount  of  $3,100,000  as  a  loan  to  the  State,  that 
were  to  be  used  in  paying  its  expenditures,  schools,  pensions  and 
the  like.  By  this  plan  banks  were  authorized  to  issue  notes  to 
the  amount  of  their  respective  subscriptions  to  the  loan  and  pay 
them  into  the  State  treasury,  and  any  holder  of  $100  or  more  of 
them  could  present  them  to  the  issuing  bank  and  when  doing  so 
was  entitled  to  an  order  on  the  auditor-general  for  an  equal 
amount  of  stock.  In  this  manner  were  they  to  be  redeemed ; 
meanwhile  the  banks  were  entitled  to  one  per  cent,  interest  on 
them  while  they  were  in  circulation.  They  were  to  be  received 
by  the  bank  that  issued  them  in  payment  of  debts  due  to  it,  and  on 
deposit,  like  currency,  and  the  State  treasurer  was  authorized  to 
re-issue  them.  The  Governor  vetoed  the  bill,  but  the  banks  were 
too  strong  for  him.  They  succeeded  in  passing  the  bill  over  his 
veto,  and  he  was  compelled  to  execute  the  law.  "I  did  hope,"  he 
said  in  his  message  in  1842,  "that  some  of  the  evils  which  have  re- 
sulted from  it  might  have  been  obviated  if  it  was  enforced  by  me 
and  acted  upon  in  a  spirit  of  enlarged  wisdom  by  the  banks  them- 
selves." This  hope  had  been  vain.  The  worst  anticipations  had 
been  realized.  The  Governor  thought  the  law  ought  to  be  re- 
pealed, the  loan  forced,  and  the  banks  compelled  to  begin  the  pay- 
ment of  specie  on  the  ist  of  June. 

Governor  Porter  was  not  less  zealous  in  trying  to  restrict  the 
spread  of  corporations.      In  his  message  of  1840  he  said:     "Let 

20 


PORTER'S   ADMINISTRATION 

the  increase  of  corporations  hereafter  be  Hmited  to  cases  of  un- 
doubted pubhc  utiHty,  where  individual  capital  and  enterprise  are 
insufficient  to  accomplish  the  object  intended,  and  let  the  power 
of  the  legislature  to  control  or  abolish  them,  l>e  at  all  times  ex- 
pressly reserved.     A  system  resting  on  opposite  principles  must 


Frederick  Augustus  Conrad  Muhlenberg 

Clergyman  ;  congressman,  1779-1787,  and  speaker 
of  the  House.  Reproduced  for  this  work  from 
an  original  painting 

eventually  transfer  nearly  all  the  powers  and  authorities  of  the 
legislature,  as  well  as  the  business  of  the  people,  to  corporate 
bodies,  and  then  silently  but  effectually  achieve  a  revolution  in 
our  civil  relations ;  for  if  the  obligations  of  men  may  be  converted 
into  those  of  a  limited  and  artificial  nature,  instead  of  a  direct 
personal  responsibility,  it  is  manifest  that  the  very  elementary 
principles  of  society  are  changed.     We  shall  be  constrained  under 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

such  change  to  reach  the  citizen,  not  by  the  immediate  process  of 
the  law,  but  by  its  clumsy,  indirect  application  to  him  in  an  ideal 
state  of  existence  created  by  legislation  and  rendered  independent 
of  the  usual  responsibility  of  the  members  of  society.  This  is 
the  condition  of  things,  complicated  and  clogged  by  corporate 
exceptions  and  privileges,  towards  which  our  recent  system  of 
legislation  on  this  subject  has  been  hastening  us,  and  at  which  we 
shall  sooner  or  later  arrive,  unless  it  be  abandoned." 

Notwithstanding  Porter's  unflinching  opposition  to  the  banks, 
to  every  form  of  wasteful  legislation  and  corruption,  to  more 
effective  taxation,  he  was  re-elected  in  1842  by  a  large  majority. 
His  re-election  was  a  triumph  of  principle,  proof  that  the  people 
had  at  last  aroused  from  their  torpor  and  desired  a  better  govern- 
ment. His  re-election  was  a  cause  of  rejoicing  by  every  honest 
man  having  any  pride  in  his  State  and  desire  to  have  it  raised 
from  the  low  place  into  which  it  had  sunk. 

Porter  had  not  served  long  in  his  second  term  when  the  finan- 
cial crash  came,  which  he  had  striven  so  hard  to  avert.  On  the 
1st  of  August,  1843,  the  State  was  unable  to  pay  the  interest  on 
its  debt.  Notes  for  interest  were  issued  l)earing  five  per  cent, 
interest,  that  were  funded  years  afterward  by  giving  new  certifi- 
cates of  stock  bearing  four  and  one-half  per  cent,  interest.  There 
was  some  complaining  Ijecause  the  same  rate  of  interest  was  not 
paid  on  these  as  was  paid  on  the  original  certificates.  They 
were  given  five  times,  in  August,  1842,  and  in  February  and 
August,  1843  ^^^^^  1844.  After  this  the  State  resumed  payment. 
The  relief  notes  issued  by  the  banks  under  the  law  of  May  4, 

1841,  amounted  to  $2,220,265.  These  were  presented  for  pay- 
ment at  different  times,  paid  and  cancelled.  By  January  i, 
1846,  $867,087  had  been  discharged. 

The  taxes  assessed  and  collected  during  the  first  five  years  of 
the  law  were:     1841,  assessments,  $523,200;  collections,  $33,292. 

1842,  assessments,  $663,075  ;  collections,  $486,635.  1843,  assess- 
sessments,  $992,206;  collections,  $553,911.      1844,  assessments, 


PORTER'S    ADMINISTRATION 

$946,055;  collections,  $751,210.  1845,  assessments,  $1,300,751 ; 
collections,  $1,318,332.  Total  assessments,  $4,425,289;  total  col- 
lections, $3,143,382. 

The  amount  due  December  i,  1845,  ^'^'^s  $873,535.  The  debt 
on  December  i,  1845,  was  $40,986,393.  The  sale  of  the  main 
line  of  the  public  works  had  been  left  the  year  before  to  the  deci- 
sion of  the  people,  and  at  the  October  election  they  had  voted  in 
favor  of  selling.  The  people  were  quite  willing  to  sell  the  public 
works  for  other  reasons  than  a  desire  to  lighten  their  burden  of 
taxes.  Many  were  now  heartily  sick  of  the  State's  attempt  to 
undertake  the  transportation  business,  and  were  eager  for  its 
retirement.  They  clearly  saw  that  if  it  continued,  wastefulness, 
fraud,  and  demoralization  would  be  the  inevitable  accompani- 
ments. Last  of  all,  there  was  a  large  class  who  had  been  con- 
ducting business  on  the  canals  with  great  profit  to  themselves  and 
who  wished  to  gain  still  more  by  becoming  the  owners. 

Unable  to  sell  them  for  the  price  fixed,  it  was  reduced  by  the 
legislature.  The  Beaver  division  of  the  Wyoming  line  on  the 
North  Branch,  forty-three  miles,  and  the  French  creek  feeder, 
costing  in  the  aggregate  $1,222,927,  were  given  away  in  1845,  the 
closing  of  the  first  chapter  in  this  miserable  business.  Meanwhile 
the  committee  of  ways  and  means  of  the  House  made  a  final  effort 
to  stay  the  tide  and  convince  the  people  that  the  retention  of  the 
public  works  was,  after  all,  desirable.  The  committee  asserted 
that  at  the  time  of  passing  the  act  authorizing  the  sale  of  the 
main  line,  "the  public  mind  was  very  much  excited  in  consequence 
of  the  State  debt  and  the  contemplated  increase  of  taxation." 
The  committee  sought  to  show  that  the  works  were  improving  in 
value  and  would  ultimately  pay.  Besides,  they  would  then  pass 
into  the  control  of  a  private  corporation,  and  these  "have  gener- 
ally been  considered  obnoxious  to  the  public  weal ;  their  history  is 
one  of  entire  selfishness,  monopolizing  in  their  design  and  results ; 
they  always  interfere  with  the  action  of  individual  enterprise, 
concentrating  large  amounts  of  capital,  which  necessarily  oper- 

23 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

ates  injuriously  to  the  interest  of  men  with  smah  means."  After 
describing  the  powerful  results  of  permitting  a  corporation  to  own 
the  works,  then  dabbling  and  interference  in  politics,  they  closed 
thus :  "The  Commonwealth  has  been  infested  with  individuals 
who  have  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  creating  this  oppressive 
debt,  and  have  made  princely  fortunes  by  the  operation ;  and  now 
they  are  willing  to  relieve  the  people  again  by  taking  the  improve- 
ments off  their  hands,  provided  they  can  get  them  at  their  own 
price.  This  would  be  a  humiliating  state  of  affairs,  and  a  result 
that  all  should  deplore.  But  if  they  are  realized  by  a  vote  of  the 
people  sanctioning  a  sale  of  the  main  line,  it  will  nevertheless  be 
lamentable;  but  as  there  is  no  other  tribunal  to  which  an  appeal 
can  be  taken,  it  must  be  submitted  to."  But  the  people  had  had 
enough,  and,  though  the  retirement  of  the  State  from  the  trans- 
portation business  was  not  to  come  for  several  years,  the  system 
was  doomed,  and  all  knew  it,  and  every  well-wisher  of  the  State 
felt  somewhat  relieved.  During  Governor  Porter's  administra- 
tion, "not  a  single  dollar  had  been  appropriated  and  paid  towards 
the  commencement  of  any  new  work  whatever ;"  and  the  thoughts 
of  all  except  those  who  were  fattening  on  the  system  were  bent  on 
extricating  the  State  from  the  public  works  and  from  the  disgrace 
with  which  they  had  covered  it. 

During  Governor  Porter's  administration  serious  riots  oc- 
curred in  Philadelphia,  due  to  the  hostility  to  the  foreign  element 
in  the  city.  A  new  party  had  arisen,  the  Native  American,  which 
insisted  that  only  native-born  citizens  should  be  elected  to  public 
office.  This  new  party  held  a  public  meeting  in  Kensington  on 
May  3,  1844.  This  was  right  in  the  midst  of  the  Irish  Catholic 
district,  and  the  latter  attacked  the  meeting  in  large  force.  A 
second  meeting  was  held  there  on  May  6,  when  the  Irish  renewed 
the  attack  with  bricks  and  firearms.  One  American  was  killed 
and  several  were  wounded.  The  next  day  the  Natives  held  an 
indignation  meeting  in  Independence  square.  A  number  of 
speakers  exhorted  to  peace,  but  to  no  avail.    The  crowd  adjourned 

24 


Richard  Butler 


Lieutenant-colonel  in  Revolutionary  army  and 
colonel  of  the  9th  Pennsylvania  regiment  at 
close  of  the  war;  major-general  in  St.  Clair's 
expedition  against   the   Indians,    1791 


PORTER'S   ADMINISTRATION 

to  Kensington,  where  a  serious  conflict  ensued,  in  which  a  num- 
ber were  kiUed  and  others  wounded.  Ahhough  the  mihtia  under 
General  Cadvvalader  appeared  in  the  evening,  the  rioting  contin- 
ued. Several  Catholic  churches  were  burned  and  other  valuable 
property  was  destroyed.  On  May  lo,  Governor  Porter  arrived 
and  large  bodies  of  soldiers  were  called  into  service,  but  not  until 
damage  had  been  done  amounting  to  over  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

This  spirit  of  hostility  smouldered  only  to  break  forth  again 
in  July.  On  the  fifth  of  this  month,  it  was  discovered  that  arms 
had  been  taken  into  the  Church  of  St.  Philip  de  Neri,  in  South- 
wark.  The  people  gathered  in  a  large  multitude  about  the  church 
and  demanded  a  search,  and  a  supply  of  muskets,  powder,  and 
cartridges  was  found  in  it.  The  militia  was  again  called  forth 
to  protect  the  place,  but  the  mob  could  not  be  controlled.  The 
church  was  secretly  entered  at  night  and  fired,  but  the  fire  was 
extinguished.  The  crowd  procured  firearms  and  at  one  time  were 
in  possession  of  three  cannon,  which  they  used  both  against  pri- 
vate citizens  and  the  militia  with  deadly  effect.  On  July  8,  Gov- 
ernor Porter  was  assured  that  if  the  soldiers  were  withdrawn  the 
civil  authorities  could  maintain  peace.  This  line  of  action  was 
followed  and  order  was  restored. 

Among  the  events  of  Porter's  administration  an  important 
reform  is  worthy  of  mention.  In  1842  the  Assembly  abolished 
imprisonment  for  debt.  Before  that  time  a  debtor  who  had  a 
judgment  rendered  against  him  for  more  than  $5.33  had  a  right 
to  a  stay  of  execution.  An  act  of  the  legislature  then  attempted 
to  secure  to  his  family  the  articles  of  absolute  household  necessity 
by  exempting  them  from  execution,  a  provision  wdiich  was  very 
often  defeated  by  the  right  of  another  creditor  to  take  the  person 
of  the  father  of  a  family  in  execution  for  a  sum  less  than  $5.33. 
upon  obtaining  judgment.  The  family  of  the  unfortunate  debtor 
was  then  compelled  to  a  forced  sale  of  the  articles  intended  to  be 
protected  from  execution  in  order  to  relieve  the  person  of  the 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

debtor,  and  thus  there  was  a  power  directly  to  produce  a  sale  of 
those  articles  of  essential  household  convenience  which  the  legis- 
lature designed  to  defend  upon  motives  of  humanity.  In  those 
thickly  populated  districts  where  pawn  brokers  do  exist  they  were 
applied  to  to  advance  money  upon  clothes,  beds,  furniture,  tools, 
and  kitchen  furniture,  in  order  to  enable  the  unfortunate  debtor  to 
pay  the  cost  of  a  trifling  suit  before  a  magistrate  and  avoid  a 
place  which  should  be  the  receptacle  of  guilty  men  and  criminals. 
For  the  evidence  of  such  we  need  only  recur  to  the  great  variety  of 
articles  which  were  commonly  advertised  for  sale  at  those  estab- 
lishments. These  were  wrenched  from  the  distress  of  the  poor 
man's  family,  to  support  and  supply  the  means  of  existence  which 
that  odious  and  cruel  law  afforded  to  a  magistracy,  oppressively 
numerous,  and  in  many  instances  too  eager  to  gain  advantage  of 
the  existence  of  a  fee  bill  to  permit  anything  to  escape  that  would 
permit  them  to  charge  a  fee.  In  the  rural  districts  these  evils 
were  not  so  frequent. 

In  Philadelphia,  for  three  years  prior  to  1830,  three  thousand 
and  one  persons  were  imprisoned  for  debt.  The  poorest  debtor 
received  only  one  five  cent  loaf  daily  from  the  county  and  had  the 
use  of  two  blankets,  some  of  which  were  not  of  sufficient  length. 
The  loaf,  which  ought  to  have  weighed  one  and  one-half  pounds, 
was  often  deficient  in  weight.  The  poorest  debtor  had  nothing 
but  bread,  water,  blankets,  room,  fire.  As  the  laws  were  then, 
honesty  of  intention  and  purpose  had  no  preference  over  roguery. 
The  rich  villain  who  was  a  rogue  in  a  transaction  of  thousands  of 
dollars  could  then,  as  now,  obtain  bail,  appeal,  or  escape;  but  the 
poor  man,  for  a  debt  of  one  dollar,  was  dragged  before  a  magis- 
trate, no  bail,  thence  to  prison,  there  to  mingle  with  those  initiated 
in  various  tricks  of  fraud,  to  return  upon  society  with  the  impres- 
sions there  received  and,  at  the  least,  a  disgraced  man,  smarting 
with  the  wrongs  inflicted  upon  him  by  his  fellow  men. 

Governor  Porter's  administration  had  been  stormy  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end — a  long,  incessant  conflict  with  the  legis- 

28 


PORTER'S    ADMINISTRATION 

laliire.  He  resisted  the  encroachments  of  the  legislative  branch 
of  the  government  on  his  own  prerogatives.  He  regarded  his 
own  ofifice  as  an  independent,  co-ordinate  branch  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  in  a  message  to  the  Senate  he  said :  "Claiming  to  un- 
derstand and  respect  the  rights  of  the  senate,  I  shall  studiously 
avoid  any  infringement  upon  them;  and  claiming  also  to  under- 
stand the  rights  and  duties  of  the  executive  under  the  constitution, 
I  shall  take  special  care  that  they  shall  not  be  invaded  and  will 
maintain  them  to  the  best  of  my  abilities.  Independence  and 
harmony  of  action  only  can  be  preserved  by  strictly  observing  the 
rights  of  all  departments  of  the  government."  Governor  Porter's 
wdiole  administration  was  guided  by  this  spirit  of  firmness  and 
determination.  On  this  account,  he  frequently  made  political 
enemies ;  indeed,  his  opponents  even  went  so  far  as  to  attempt  to 
impeach  him.  In  1842,  a  specific  charge  was  made  that  he  had 
used  his  influence  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  resumption  act  of 
1840.  A  legislative  committee  was  appointed  to  examine  into 
the  charges,  and  after  hearing  much  evidence  the  whole  proceed- 
ings were  dropped.  Political  passion  finally  subsided,  and  when 
the  Governor  retired  from  office  it  was  with  the  proud  conscious- 
ness that  he  had  served  the  State  courageously  and  well. 


29 


CHAPTER  II. 

SKUNK'S  AND  JOHNSTON'S  ADMINISTRATIONS— 1845-1852 

GOVERNOR  PORTER  was  succeeded  by  Francis  Rawn 
Shunk,  whose  father  had  emigrated  from  the  Palatinate  in 
171 5,  and  finally  settled  at  the  Trappe  in  Montgomery 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Here  Francis  was  born  on  Aug.  7,  1788. 
As  his  parents  were  very  poor,  he  was  unable  to  obtain  from  the 
schools  even  the  rudiments  of  an  education.  When  not  more 
than  ten  years  of  age,  he  was  regularly  employed  on  the  farms  in 
his  neighborhood.  By  his  untiring  industry,  however,  he  ac- 
quired much  knowledge,  and  he  became  a  teacher  when  only  fif- 
teen years  old.  Between  1803  and  1812,  he  was  employed  during 
the  winter  months  as  master  of  the  village  school,  while  during 
the  summer  he  continued  to  labor  on  the  farm.  In  1812  he  was 
appointed  to  a  clerkship  in  the  surveyor-general's  office,  and 
while  thus  employed  he  had  an  opportunity  to  take  up  the  study 
of  law  with  Thomas  Elder,  Esq.,  of  Harrisburg.  In  1814 
Shunk  enlisted  in  the  defence  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  on  re- 
turning was  appointed  clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  filled  this  office  for  a  number  of  years  with 
great  ability,  and  afterwards  became  secretary  of  the  board  of 
canal  commissioners.  In  1838  Governor  Porter  appointed  him 
secretary  of  state,  and  on  retiring  from  this  office  he  began  the 
practice  of  law  in  Pittsburg. 

In  1844,  Shunk  was  elected  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  his  term  of  office  almost  coincides  with  that  of  James  K.  Polk 

30 


SHUNK  AND   JOHNSTON 

as  President  of  the  United  States.  In  the  second  year  of  his 
governorship,  the  United  States  became  involved  in  war  with 
Mexico.  The  President  was  authorized  to  employ  the  militia 
and  to  call  into  service  fifty  thousand  volunteers.  He  requested 
Governor  Shunk  to  have  six  regiments  of  volunteer  infantry  en- 
rolled, and  held  in  readiness  for  muster  into  the  service  of  the 
United  States.  The  term  of  enlistment  was  for  a  year,  or  until 
the  end  of  the  war.  The  feeling  of  patriotism  ran  high;  for 
within  thirty  days,  ninety  companies,  or  sufficient  to  fill  nine 
regiments,  offered  to  serve.  On  December  15,  1846,  the  first 
regiment  of  volunteers  was  organized  at  Pittsburg;  while  on 
January  5,  1847,  the  second  regiment  was  ordered  to  rendezvous 
at  the  same  place.  These  regiments  were  commanded  respective- 
ly by  Colonels  Wynkoop  and  Geary.  The  State  afterwards  mus- 
tered several  additional  companies,  and  all  the  troops  that  went 
to  the  front  made  a  valiant  record  in  the  hard  fought  battles  from 
Vera  Cruz  to  the  City  of  Mexico. 

During  Shunk's  administration,  the  economic  condition  of  the 
State  was  greatly  improved.  The  financial  storm  had  passed  by 
and  men  were  recovering  from  their  reverses,  while  everywhere 
prosperity  was  visible.  The  State  was  paying  interest  on  its 
debt,  and  the  revenue  was  sufficient  to  meet  all  expenditures.  The 
failure  to  sell  the  public  works  on  the  conditions  prescribed  by  the 
legislature  led  to  their  continued  ownership  and  management  by 
the  State.  The  income  from  this  source  improved  somewhat ; 
but  not  much,  and  public  sentiment  was  apparently  in  favor  of 
continuing  the  experiment.  The  banks  were  clamoring  for 
more  charters;  but  the  Governor  was  steadfastly  set  on  limiting 
the  number.  He  did,  however,  consider  the  expediency  of  es- 
tablishing a  system  of  free  banking,^  which  was  in  operation  in 
some  of  the  States.  One  great  merit  of  this  system  was  that  it 
prevented  special  legislative  grants.  After  examining  every  fea- 
ture of  this  free  banking  plan,  the  Governor  opposed  it,  and  he 

'See  message  of  1848,  p.  9. 

31 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

set  forth  his  objections  as  follows:  "If  this  system  of  converting 
State  stock  into  banking  capital,  and  hypothecating  it  as  security 
for  the  payment  of  bank  issues  were  not  a  delusion,  mortgages 
on  real  estate  might  be  used  for  the  same  purpose,  which  would 
afford  an  equal,  if  not  a  better  security  for  the  payment  of  the 
notes,  and  by  this  process  the  whole  value  of  the  real  estate  of  the 
country  might  be  converted  into  banking  capital  and  the  people 
into  a  nation  of  bankers.  But  suppose  all  real  estate  were  thus 
set  afloat,  made  negotiable,  would  it  not  show  the  whole  scheme 
illusory  and  unsound?" 

The  legislature  still  continued  to  grant  charters,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor to  sign  them,  afterwards  condemning  himself  for  so  doing. 
His  remarks,  in  view  of  the  subsequent  development  of  corporate 
life  are  interesting  reading:  "While  all  the  great  departments  of 
business  in  the  Commonwealth  are  prosperously  conducted,  under 
free  and  equal  competition,  there  are  yet  some  men  who  seem  to 
stand  still  while  the  world  is  going  on  around  them  and  who  cher- 
ish the  anticjuated  notion  that  the  timid,  contracted  and  selfish 
aggregation  of  wealth  under  the  protection  of  corporate  privileges 
is  preferable  for  the  transaction  of  business  to  the  free,  ardent 
and  bounding  capabilities  of  individual  enterprise — a  power 
which  since  William  Penn  arrived  on  these  shores,  in  1682,  has 
changed  an  immense  wilderness  into  fruitful  fields  and  has,  in  this 
march  of  civilization  and  improvement,  provided  for  the  wants, 
the  comforts,  the  education  and  refinement  of  two  million  of  free 
people.  What  have  corporations  done  towards  this  great  achieve- 
ment? Where  are  the  trophies  of  their  generous  spirit?  They 
are  behind  the  times ;  they  belong  to  an  age  that  is  past.  The 
time  was  in  other  countries,  when  all  the  rights  of  the  people 
were  usurped  by  despotic  governments ;  when  a  grant  by  the  king 
to  a  portion  of  his  subjects,  of  corporate  privileges  to  carry  on 
trade,  or  for  municipal  purposes,  was  a  partial  enfranchisement, 
and  made  the  means  of  resuming  some  of  their  civil  rights.  In 
this  age  and  country,  under  our  free  system,  where  the  people  are 


SIIUNK   AND   JOILVS'J'ON 

sovereign,  to  grant  special  privileges  is  an  inversion  of  the  order 
of  things.  It  is  not  to  restore,  but  to  take  away  from  the  people 
their  common  rights  and  give  them  to  a  few."^ 

Governor  Shnnk  opposed,  therefore,  all  accumulations  of 
wealth  in  the  hands  of  the  few,  as  well  as  all  special  legislation  foi 
the  privileged  class.  It  was  this  sense  of  justice  which  led  him 
to  urge  the  enactment  of  laws  extending  certain  rights  to  mar- 
ried women.  Before  that  time,  the  State  had  been  negligent  in 
this  matter.  By  the  then  existing  laws,  the  husband  on  marriage 
had  the  power  to  become  the  absolute  owner  of  the  personal  estate 
of  his  wife.  When  he  thus  acquired  the  ownership,  he  might 
dispose  of  it  by  will  at  his  death  to  whom  he  pleased.  The  wife 
had  no  control  of  her  own  personal  estate,  or  that  of  her  husband 
during  her  marriage,  and  at  her  death  she  had  no  power  to  dis- 
pose of  even  that  which  was  her  own,  by  will ;  but  the  whole  be- 
longed to  her  husband.  He  might  encumber  his  estate  by  con- 
tracting debts  without  the  consent  of  his  wife,  and  upon  his  dying 
intestate,  she  was  only  entitled  to  the  one-third  of  the  personal  es- 
tate, and  a  life  estate  in  one-third  of  the  real  estate,  after  the  pay- 
ment of  all  the  debts.  If  the  estate  was  not  sufficient  to  the  pay- 
ment of  the  debts,  she  lost  all.  Governor  Shunk  strongly  urged 
a  modification  in  these  laws,  so  as  to  give  married  women  the 
rights  of  property.  He  said :  "The  liberal  and  enlightened  spirit 
of  the  age  has  developed  and  secured  the  rights  of  man,  and  has 
redeemed  woman  and  elevated  her  from  the  degrading  position 
she  occupied,  and  placed  her  where  she  always  should  have  been, 
at  the  side  of  her  husband,  his  equal  in  rank  and  dignity.  Then 
why  should  her  rights  of  property  still  be  to  a  great  extent  con- 
trolled by  the  contracted  enactments  of  an  age  when  her  husband 
was  her  lord,  and  he  might  chastise  her  by  law,  as  if  she  were  a 
servant."  Following  the  Governor's  advice,  the  legislature,  in 
1848,  enacted  the  first  law  extending  to  women  the  rights  of 
property.        Strangely  enough,  however,  these  rights  were  frit- 

'^Message  1848,  p.  9. 
3-3  33 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

tered    away  by  several    decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court,  which 
greatly  destroyed  the  efficiency  of  the  original  enactment. 

Governor  Shnnk  also  favored  a  change  in  the  law  relating  to 
the  separation  of  married  persons.       From  the  beginning  of  the 


Physician;  soldier;  scholar;  president  Continen- 
tal Congress,  1787;  governor  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, 1789-1802.  Reproduced  especially  for  this 
work  from  print  in  possession  of  Mrs.  William 
M.  Darlington 


Commonwealth  it  had  been  the  policy  to  provide  by  law  for  the 
dissolution  of  the  marriage  contract  for  other  causes  than  adul- 
tery. These  causes  were  enumerated  in  an  act  passed  in  1815. 
They  embraced  a  wide  range  and  seemed  to  provide  for  all  the 


34 


SHUNK  AND  JOHNSTON 

grievances  that  might  arise  "in  this  interesting  relation,"  requir- 
ing legal  interposition.  During  the  first  period  of  ten  years  after 
passing  this  law,  sixteen  divorces  were  granted  by  the  legisla- 
ture, forty-two  during  the  next  similar  period,  and  ninety  during 
the  third.  Governor  Shunk  remarked  in  his  message  of  1847: 
"Special  acts  of  the  legislature  for  disturbing  the  contract  be- 
tween husband  and  wife  are  calculated  to  arrest  the  attention  of 
every  good  citizen,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  disregard  of 
the  marriage  vows,  and  the  facilities  for  releasing  parties  from 
their  obligations  are  strong  indications  of  degeneracy  in  public 
virtue  and  public  morals.  The  Governor  believed  that  the  special 
legislative  divorce  had  a  dangerous  tendency,  and  should  be  exer- 
cised, if  at  all,  in  cases  only  "of  extreme  hardship  and  unques- 
tionable propriety."  The  law  was  finally  changed,  and  the  legis- 
lature relieved  from  granting  divorces.  Since  then,  the  courts 
alone  have  been  entrusted  with  this  power. 

From  time  to  time  the  Governors  had  remarked  on  the  evil 
tendency  of  special  legislation ;  but  none  had  described  the  evils 
so  plainly  as  Shunk.  He  said  that  the  demand  for  special  legis- 
lation had  increased  to  an  alarming  extent,  which  no  industry  of 
the  Assembly  would  be  able  within  the  limits  of  an  ordinary  ses- 
sion to  justify  if  the  practice  was  continued.  This  evil  had 
grown  from  small  beginnings.  At  first  the  legislature  had  time 
enough  to  consider  the  merits  of  every  subject  presented;  but 
with  the  increase  in  population  and  wealth,  and  the  expansion  of 
industry,  the  subjects  of  legislation  rapidly  multiplied.  There 
was  need,  therefore,  of  enacting  general  laws  that  would  cover 
all  matters  worthy  of  attention ;  or  else  many  of  them  would  pass 
unnoticed.  To  prevent  the  latter  result,  arrangements  of  various 
kinds  are  made  to  secure  their  adoption.  Thousands  of  mer- 
itorious bills  have  been  enacted ;  but  by  unworthy  means,  because 
they  were  improperly  opposed  or  otherwise  endangered.  The 
constant  struggle  for  charters  is  perhaps  the  best  illustration. 
Most  of  these  were  without  any  objectionable  features,  and  would 

35 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

be  passed  by  a  modern  legislature  without  opposition.  But  in 
the  earlier  days  there  were  several  strong  objections  to  them — 
the  chief  one,  perhaps,  because  they  were  regarded  as  monopolies 
in  the  old  sense  of  the  term.  When  they  ceased  to  possess  this 
character,  and  were  nothing  more  than  mere  aggregations  of 
men  with  limited  pecuniary  responsibilities,  the  legislature  would 
have  greatly  lessened  its  labors  had  it  enacted  general  laws  per- 
mitting individuals  to  be  incorporated  at  an  earlier  period.  By 
so  doing,  the  work  of  legislation  would  have  been  expedited  and 
bargains  among  law  makers  would  have  been  fewer.  Much 
trouble  would  have  been  wholly  averted  by  the  enactment  of  gen- 
eral laws,  thus  greatly  abridging  the  quantity  of  legislation.  The 
slowness  in  evolving  general  laws  from  special  ones,  when  the 
reasons  for  doing  this  were  so  strong,  is  a  most  singular  thing  in 
the  history  of  American  legislation.  At  no  time  would  any  one 
have  opposed  such  laws,  because  they  were  of  general  applica- 
tion for  the  public  welfare  and  not  for  any  special  time  or  class. 
But  they  were  not  to  be  delayed  much  longer.  Governor  Shunk 
expressed  an  idea  that  had  grounded  itself  at  last  in  the  minds  of 
the  people,  and  before  long  would  be  embodied  in  legal  form  and 
endowed  with  a  real  practical  life. 

In  1847,  Governor  Shunk  was  re-elected  for  a  second  term. 
Early  in  the  spring  of  1848,  he  was  attacked  with  a  pulmonary 
trouble  which  assumed  a  fatal  character.  On  the  morning  of 
July  9  he  had  a  severe  hemorrhage  from  the  lungs.  On  that  day, 
feeling  that  his  days  were  numbered,  he  wrote  the  following  letter 
of  resignation : 

"To  THE  People  of  Pennsylvania: 

'Tt  having  pleased  Divine  Providence  to  deprive  me  of  the 
strength  necessary  to  the  further  discharge  of  the  duties  of  your 
Chief  Magistrate,  and  to  lay  me  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  from  which 
I  am  admonished  by  my  physicians,  and  my  own  increasing  debil- 
ity, I  may,  in  all  human  probability,  never  rise,  I  have  resolved, 

"36 


SHUNK  AND   JOHNSTON 

upon  mature  reflection,  under  a  conviction  of  duty,  on  this  day, 
to  restore  to  you  the  trust  with  which  your  suffrages  ha\e  clothed 
me,  in  order  that  you  may  avail  yourselves  of  the  provision  of  the 
Constitution  to  choose  a  successor  at  the  next  general  election.  I, 
therefore,  herehy  resign  the  office  of  Governor  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  Pennsylvania,  and  direct  this,  my  resignation,  to  be 
filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 

"In  taking  leave  of  you  under  circumstances  so  solemn,  accept 
my  gratitude  for  the  confidence  you  have  reposed  in  me.  My 
prayer  is,  that  peace,  virtue,  intelligence,  and  religion  may  per- 
vade all  your  borders — that  the  free  institutions  you  have  inherit- 
ed from  your  ancestors  may  remain  unimpaired  till  the  latest  pos- 
terity— that  the  same  kind  Providence,  which  has  already  so  sig- 
nally blessed  you,  may  conduct  you  to  a  still  higher  state  of  indi- 
vidual and  social  happiness — and  when  the  world  shall  close  upon 
you,  as  I  feel  it  is  soon  about  to  close  upon  me,  that  you  may  en- 
joy the  consolations  of  the  Christian's  faith,  and  be  gathered, 
without  a  wanderer  lost,  into  the  fold  of  the  Great  Shepherd 
above. 

"Francis  R.  Siiunk." 

"Harrisburg,  July  9,  1848." 

A  few  days  later  Francis  Shunk  died,  and  his  body  was  laid 
to  rest  in  the  old  Lutheran  burying  ground  at  the  Trappe,  in  the 
midst  of  the  scenes  where  he  had  spent  his  youthful  days  of  toil. 
He  was  succeeded  by  William  Freame  Johnston,  President  of  the 
Senate  of  Pennsylvania.  By  a  provision  of  the  constitution  of 
1838  if  any  vacancy  occur  by  death,  or  otherwise,  in  the  office 
of  Governor,  the  President  of  the  Senate  Ijecomes  acting  Gov- 
ernor. This  constitution  also  provided  that  if  the  vacancy  occurs 
three  months  before  the  general  fall  election,  the  acting  Governor 
shall  order  a  new  election;  but  "the  writ  shall  issue  at  least  three 
calendar  months  before  the  election."  If  a  notice  of  three  full 
months  could  not  be  given,  then  the  election  must  be  postponed 

37 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 


for  a  year.  Governor  Shunk  resigned  on  the  last  day  possible, 
and  Mr.  Johnston  did  not  assume  authority  until  July  26.  There- 
fore, by  a  strict  construction  of  the  constitution,  the  new  election 
must  go  over  for  a  year.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  Johnston  ordered 
an  immediate  election  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  October.  He 
explained  his  motives  for  this  course  of  action  in  a  message  to 

the  legislature.  He  wished  to  avoid  all 
charges  of  selfishness,  and  he  believed 
it  the  safest  plan  to  submit  the  whole 
matter  to  the  decision  of  the  people.  The 
result  of  the  election  was  the  choice  of 
Mr.  Johnston  for  the  full  term  of  three 
years. 

The  new  Governor  was  born  at 
Greensburg,  Westmoreland  county,  No- 
vember 29,  1808.  His  father  was  a  na- 
tive of  Scotland,  migrating  to  America 
in  1796.  Young  Johnston  received  a 
common  school  and  academic  education  ; 
after  which  he  studied  law  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1829.  He  soon  af- 
terwards removed  to  Armstrong  county, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  taking  a  leading  place 
in  his  profession.  He  served  as  district  attorney  of  the  county, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  lower  House  of  the  legislature  for  sev- 
eral years.  In  1847  Johnston  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  and 
became  president  of  that  body.  This  placed  him  in  the  line  of 
succession  to  Governor  Shunk,  on  the  latter's  resignation,  July  9, 
1848. 

One  of  the  first  subjects  to  command  Governor  Johnston's  at- 
tention was  that  of  the  material  interests  of  the  State.  He  real- 
ized that  the  Commonwealth  possessed  unrivalled  mineral  and 
agricultural  wealth,  and  in  his  opinion  the  best  instrument  to  de- 
velop this  wealth  was  a  protective  tariff.       He  defended  this  pol- 


Arthur  St.  Clair  Monument 
Greensburg 


38 


SHUNK  AND  JOHNSTON 

icy  in  his  first  message,  as  follows:  "The  price  of  labor  is  regu- 
lated by  its  demand  and  the  value  of  the  article  it  produces. 
Hence,  whatever  increases  profitable  labor  is  substantially  bene- 
ficial to  the  working  classes  and  affords  them  the  means  of  com- 
fort, the  delights  of  rational  enjoyment,  and  the  opportunity  of 
exalting  their  condition,  and  with  performing  with  safety  to  the 
country  the  duties  of  citizens.  The  manufacturer,  if  he  be  sus- 
tained in  his  enterprise,  produces  this  result  by  opening  to  the 
laborer  a  new  source  of  employment.  It  is  frequently  urged  that 
the  system  of  protection  to  domestic  industry  is  of  more  interest 
to  the  manufacturer  than  to  the  laborer,  as  it  enables  him  to  dis- 
pose of  his  fabrics  for  a  higher  price,  and  to  realize  a  better  profit 
on  his  capital;  but  is  not  the  capital  of  the  laborer  also  involved 
in  the  fabric,  and  also  does  he  not  receive  a  reward  in  proportion 
to  the  value  of  the  article  ?  Let  it  be  remembered  also,  that  his 
daily  bread,  the  wants  of  his  family,  the  education  of  his  chil- 
dren, all  depend  upon  the  success  of  the  establishment  at  which  he 
is  employed,  and  the  objection  can  have  little  weight."  At  the 
time  when  this  message  was  written,  the  tariff  of  1846  was  still  in 
operation.  Framed  mainly  for  revenue,  it  discriminated  against 
protection.  Governor  Johnston  realized  that  our  great  resources 
needed  protection,  and  he  frequently  referred  to  the  subject,  al- 
ways showing  a  familiar  knowledge  of  economic  literature. 

During  Johnston's  administration  steps  were  taken  to  publish 
the  records  of  the  State.  The  papers  from  early  colonial  times 
remained  in  single  manuscript  copy,  and  they  were  in  constant 
danger  of  being  destroyed  by  fire.  The  Governor,  in  his  mes- 
sage of  185 1,  referred  to  the  subject  as  follows:  "My  attention 
has  been  called  to  the  large  body  of  original  papers  in  the  State 
Department,  connected  with  the  colonial  and  revolutionary  his- 
tory of  the  State,  and  their  extremely  exposed  and  perishing  con- 
dition. These  records  are  worth  preservation,  as  containing  au- 
thentic information  of  the  action  of  our  fathers  in  the  struggle 
for  national  existence.       In  the  Capital  of  Pennsylvania,  and  with 

39 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

the  sympathies  of  her  patriotic  people,  was  independence  nurtured 
and  declared.  Her  soldiers  were  most  numerous  around  the 
standard  of  the  nation,  and  there  were  more  battlefields  on  her 
soil  than  in  the  same  area  elsewhere.  Every  memorial  of  those 
days  of  devotion  and  trial  should  be  faithfully  preserved.  There 
exists  a  single  copy  in  manuscript  of  the  minutes  of  the  revolu- 
tionary Executive  Council,  a  document  by  far  too  valuable  to  re- 
main longer  within  the  reach  of  accident  or  mutilation.  It  would 
be  gratifying  to  a  large  body  of  our  constituents  if  the  Assembly 
would  authorize  the  employment  of  a  competent  gentleman  to  se- 
lect and  arrange  for  publication  these  memorials  of  an  interesting 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Commonwealth."  Following  the 
Governor's  recommendation,  the  legislature  passed  an  act  author- 
izing the  appointment  of  a  competent  person  to  select  and  arrange 
for  the  publication  of  these  valuable  documents.  Under  the  su- 
pervision of  Samuel  Hazard,  twenty-eight  \olunies  of  Colonial 
Records  and  Pennsylvania  Archives  were  published.  The  work 
has  been  continued  in  recent  years,  and  only  a  few  months  ago  the 
fourth  series  of  the  Archives  appeared  from  the  press. 

As  early  as  1844,  attention  was  directed  to  the  neglected  con- 
dition of  the  insane  poor  of  the  State;  while  two  years  later  the 
legislature  passed  an  act  providing  for  an  asylum  within  ten  miles 
from  the  capital.  A  farm  was  purchased  adjoining  Harrisburg, 
and  in  1848  the  erection  of  a  suitable  Ixiilding  was  commenced. 
This  philanthropic  movement  was  warmly  encouraged  by  the  Gov- 
ernor and  valuable  assistance  was  also  rendered  by  Miss  Dorothy 
L.  Dix. 

It  was  not  until  the  administration  of  Governor  Johnston  that 
the  public  school  system  became  general  throughout  the  State. 
This  was  accomplished  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  in  1848,  which 
read  as  follows :  "That  the  common  school  system,  from  and  after 
the  passage  of  this  act,  shall  be  deemed,  held  and  taken  to  be 
adopted  by  the  several  school  districts  in  this  Commonwealth,  and 
that  the  school  directors  of  districts  from  which  the  undrawn 

40 


SHUNK  AND   JOHNSTON 

appropriations  were  taken,  in  1844,  shall  levy  and  assess  a  tax  to 
enable  them  to  receive  the  State  appropriation,  and  be  entitled  to 
a  deduction  of  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  all  moneys  paid  into  the 
county  treasury  for  State  purposes  for  two  years."  In  1848, 
when  this  act  was  passed,  there  were  still  nearly  two  hundred  non- 
accepting  school  districts;  l)ut  within  tw^o  years  the  number  had 
been  reduced  to  one  hundred.  Wickersham  states,  however,  that 
an  inquiry  made  in  1868  "revealed  the  astonishing  fact  that  there 
w^ere  still  twenty-three  districts  in  the  State,  with  about  six  thou- 
sand children,  that  had  no  common  schools  in  operation."  But 
the  system  had  taken  firm  hold  and  was  bound  to  grow.       The 

4^k  A%i    ^  *'''1  ^^"^  I'oiTcno,  to  vhatever  PMtE 
Hr'  ^*     "^^^  ^ym\^'^  ^^  t>e  ariu-n  agaiqft  it's  NqirW 

y^My  yl)(;;^  -is  the  mmniait  Rsad hoTrtkkt^  ■'-. 

'  V       ...» ^  I  /^  <^  .     '  .      (O 

1  ^''  '\ 


Old  Lottery  Ticket,  showing  Washington's   Signature 

grading  of  schools  went  on  in  the  villages  and  towms,  and  some 
of  the  cities  had  already  established  flourishing  high  schools.  In 
1852,  at  the  close  of  Johnston's  administration,  there  were  9,699 
schools  in  operation,  with  an  attendance  of  480,778  pupils  and 
11,713  teachers.  The  tax  amounted  to  $982,196.22,  and  the 
expenses  had  reached  $1,116,919.25.  The  material  growth  of 
the  system  was  rapid  and  its  progress  forms  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting chapters  in  the  history  of  the  Commonwealth. 

In  1849  "^  sinking  fund  for  paying  the  State  debt  was  estab- 
lished. The  secretary  <^f  the  Commonwealth,  auditor-general 
and  State  treasurer  were  created  a  board  to  a])ply  all  the  inci^me 
derived  from  the  taxes  on  collateral  inheritances,  banks,  railroads, 
etc.       Many  persons  counted  on  some  magical  results  from  the 

41 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

operation  of  such  a  fund.  There  was  virtue,  indeed,  in  it,  which 
consisted  of  the  appropriation  of  a  part  of  the  pubhc  revenues  to 
paying  the  debt.  If  the  law  was  regarded,  and  the  funds  ap- 
phed  and  no  more  debt  created,  then  in  time  the  sinking  fund 
would  effect  a  discharge  of  the  debt. 

Excitement  over  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  ran  high  during 
Johnston's  administration.  The  Governor  was  a  strong  oppo- 
nent of  slavery,  and  much  space  was  devoted  to  the  subject  in  his 
first  message.  Among  other  things  he  said :  "While  the  com- 
promises of  the  constitution  should  be  maintained  in  good  faith 
towards  our  Southern  brethren  it  is  our  duty  to  see  that  they  are 
preserved  with  equal  fidelity  to  ourselves.  No  encroachments, 
however  sanctioned  by  use,  should  be  acknowledged  as  prece- 
dents for  further  wrongs  against  the  interests,  prosperity,  and 
happiness  of  the  non-slaveholding  States  of  the  Union.  If  slav- 
ery be,  in  itself,  an  infraction  of  human  rights — if  it  be  directly 
opposed  to  the  enlightened  spirit  of  our  free  institutions — if  it 
destroy  the  equality  of  power  in  the  general  government,  by  en- 
larging, where  it  exists,  the  constitutional  representation — if  it 
possess  a  direct  or  indirect  influence  against  Northern  and  West- 
ern policy  and  interests,  by  promoting  a  system  of  laws  destruct- 
ive of  domestic  industry,  and  vitally  affecting  free  labor — if  it  re- 
tard the  natural  growth  of  population  and  improvement,  by  the 
appropriation  of  large  tracts  of  land  for  the  benefit  of  the  few  to 
the  injury  of  the  many — if  it  be  in  open  defiance  of  the  spirit  of 
the  age,  the  march  of  rational  truth,  and  the  enlightened  policy 
of  mankind — it  is  time  to  arrest  its  further  progress.  These,  it 
is  believed,  are  the  settled  convictions  of  our  citizens,  and  their 
determination  to  maintain  them  is  unalterable." 

The  adoption  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  of  1850  aroused  iiv 
tense  excitement  throughout  the  State.  While  Governor  John- 
ston was  a  bitter  opponent  of  slavery,  he  believed  that  the  na- 
tional authority  must  be  respected,  and  that  fugitive  slaves  should 
be  returned  to  their  masters.       He  regarded  the  law  as  vicious 

42 


SHUNK  AND  JOHNSTON 

and  unjust;  but  held  that  it  should  be  obeyed  until  repealed  from^ 
the  statute  books.  About  a  year  after  the  passage  of  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  Law  a  serious  riot  occurred  on  Pennsylvania  soil,  as 
the  result  of  an  effort  made  by  a  party  of  slave  holders  to  recover 
some  fugitive  negroes.  It  appears  that  in  September,  1851,  a 
number  of  colored  men  had  taken  refuge  near  Christiana,  Lan- 
caster county,  and  a  bloody  battle  ensued  when  seven  of  them 
were  about  to  be  arrested  as  fugitive  slaves.  The  slave  hunters 
visited  the  neighborhood  of  Christiana  early  in  the  morning  of 
September  the  eleventh.  The  party  consisted  of  Edward  Gor- 
such,  his  nephew,  Dr.  Pearce,  Nicholas  Hutchins,  and  others,  all 
from  Maryland,  and  Henry  Kline,  a  slave-catching  constable 
from  Philadelphia.  At  daybreak  they  were  discovered  lying  in 
ambush  near  the  house  of  William  Parker,  a  colored  man,  and  an 
alarm  was  sounded.  The  party  approached  the  house  and  a  de- 
mand was  made  for  the  slaves.  The  colored  people  of  the  neigh- 
borhood soon  gathered,  armed  with  guns,  axes  and  clubs.  There 
were  threats  made  on  both  sides,  and  the  parleying  continued  for 
an  hour  and  a  half.  Castner  Hanway  and  Elijah  Lewis,  mem- 
bers of  the  Society  of  Friends,  residing  in  the  neighborhood,  then 
visited  the  scene  of  excitement,  the  former  on  horseback.  Kline, 
the  constable,  read  warrants  to  them  demanding  their  assistance 
in  capturing  the  slaves.  Of  course,  they  refused,  and  while  they 
were  talking,  Parker  and  several  other  colored  men  came  to  the 
door.  Gorsuch  thought  they  intended  to  escape,  and  drawing 
his  revolver,  called  his  men  into  line.  Parker  made  some  of- 
fensive remarks  to  Gorsuch,  when  a  revolver  was  fired  and  the 
fighting  began  in  earnest.  Gorsuch  was  killed,  and  his  son  was 
seriously  wounded.  The  other  slave  hunters  and  officers  then 
fled,  pursued  by  the  negroes.  Several  colored  men  were  wound- 
ed, but  none  severely.  Immediately  after  the  riot  the  United 
States  marshal  from  Philadelphia  arrived  at  Christiana  with  a 
detachment  of  marines  to  keep  the  peace.  At  the  same  time, 
about  eighty  police  scoured  the  country,  arresting  many  persons 

43 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

on  suspicion  of  having  been  involved  in  the  fight.  Castner  Han- 
way  and  Ehjah  Lewis,  who  refused  to  assist  in  capturing  the 
slaves,  were  arrested  upon  the  charge  of  treason.  Thirty-five 
negroes  were  arrested  with  them  for  engaging  in  the  riot.  They 
were  all  taken  to  Philadelphia,  and  confined  in  Moyamensing 
prison  for  ninety-seven  days.  Hanway  was  tried  in  the  Circuit 
Court  of  the  United  States  at  Philadelphia  in  November,  1851, 
before  Judges  Grier  and  Kane.  The  jury  returned  a  verdict  of 
"not  guilty,"  after  which  the  charges  against  the  other  defend- 
ants were  dropped.  The  prisoners  were  then  handed  over  to  the 
authorities  of  Lancaster  county,  there  to  answer  the  charges  of 
riot  and  murder.  But  when  the  cases  came  up  for  trial  in  that 
county,  the  grand  jury  ignored  the  bills  and  the  accused  parties 
were  released.  Li  referring  to  these  trials,  Still,  in  his  "History 
of  the  Underground  Railroad,"  says :  "Especially  were  slave- 
holders taught  the  wholesome  lesson,  that  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  was  no  guarantee  against  'red  hot  shot,'  nor  the  charges  of 
U.  S.  Judges  and  the  findings  of  Grand  Juries,  together  with  the 
superior  learning  of  counsel  from  slave-holding  Maryland,  any 
guarantee  that  'traitors'  would  be  hung.  In  every  respect,  the 
Underground  Railroad  made  capital  by  the  treason.  Slave- 
holders from  Maryland  especially  were  far  less  disposed  to  hunt 
their  runaway  property  than  they  had  hitherto  been.  The 
Deputy  Marshal  likewise  considered  the  business  of  catching 
slaves  very  unsafe." 

In  185 1  Johnston  was  nominated  for  a  second  term.  His 
Democratic  opponent  was  William  Bigler.  The  campaign  was 
unusually  spirited,  and  was  carried  on  from  midsummer  until  the 
day  of  election  in  October.  State  issues  were  forgotten ;  for  the 
larger  questions  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  and  slavery  in  the  ter- 
ritories were  demanding  universal  attention.  Bigler  was  elected 
by  a  good  majority,  and  Johnston  on  retiring  from  office  en- 
gaged in  several  business  enterprises. 


44 


CHAPTER  III. 

BIGLER'S,    POLLOCK'S,    AND  PACKER'S  ADMINISTRATIONS— 

I 852- I 86 I 

TiiE  new  Governor,  William  Bigler,  was  a  good  representa- 
tive of  the  stnrdy  German  element,  which  has  furnished  so 
many  ahle  men  for  positions  of  trust  and  honor  in  the  State. 
He  was  born  in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  October, 
181 3.  Soon  after  this  his  parents  removed  to  Mercer  county, 
where  the  family  battled  against  poverty,  depending  for  their  live- 
lihood upon  the  scanty  returns  from  a  small  farm.  William  Bigler 
received  only  a  common  school  education,  after  which  he  learned 
the  printing  trade  in  the  office  of  the  "Democrat,"  published  at 
Bellefonte.  After  finishing  his  apprenticeship,  in  1833,  he  re- 
moved to  Clearfield  and  started  a  newspaper,  the  "Clearfield  Dem- 
ocrat." This  venture  naturally  led  him  into  politics,  for  he  was 
a  staunch  admirer  of  Andrew  Jackson,  and  wM'ote  many  editorials 
praising  his  virtues.  In  1836  he  w^as  married  to  Maria  Reed, 
daughter  of  Alexander  Reed,  of  Clearfield.  Soon  after  this  event 
he  sold  his  newspaper  and  became  a  partner  with  his  father-in- 
law  in  the  lumber  business.  His  first  political  venture  w^as  in 
1 84 1,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  by  a  large  majority. 
In  1844  he  was  re-elected  for  a  second  term,  and  for  a  while  was 
president  of  that  body.  He  entered  the  Senate  at  a  distracted 
time,  and  was  fearless  in  advocating  reforms.  He  delivered  a 
powerful  speech  on  the  resumption  of  specie  payments,  which 
called  forth  the  remark  from  an  older  colleague:    "Young  man. 

45 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

that  speech  will  make  you  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  if  you  be- 
have 3'ourself  well  hereafter."  This  prediction  came  true  in  185 1, 
when  he  was  nominated  and  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket. 

Big-ler's  administration  is  marked  with  stronger  features  than 
any  one  of  its  immediate  predecessors.  Once  more  the  sale  of  the 
canals  became  a  prominent  question.  Since  the  failure  to  sell  the 
canals  during  Porter's  administration,  the  State  had  been  oper- 
ating them,  but  receiving  little  more  than  the  expenditures.  Each 
year  the  old  story  was  repeated  that  the  income  was  disappoint- 
ingly small  in  consequence  of  the  freshets  or  other  mishaps,  and 
that  the  receipts  next  year  would  be  much  larger.  The  people 
now  saw  more  clearly  than  ever  that  the  State  had  plunged  into 
canal  building  without  any  thought  of  the  conseciuences.  The 
North  Branch  was  not  yet  finished ;  still  the  Governor  urged  its 
completion  as  soon  as  funds  could  be  obtained.  It  was  argued 
that  the  canal  was  so  nearly  done  that  it  ought  to  be  completed  to 
save  what  had  been  invested;  and  then,  too,  it  was  believed  that 
the  canal  would  be  used  for  the  transportation  of  vast  quantities  of 
coal  and  other  products.  The  management  of  the  canals  on  the 
part  of  the  commissioners  was  not  always  marked  with  wisdom. 
Tn  185 1  a  statute  had  been  passed  forbidding  the  creation  of  debts 
by  the  officers  of  the  public  works,  requiring  the  payment  of  cash 
for  all  labor  and  material,  and  monthly  returns  of  all  receipts  and 
expenditures.  But  the  first  year  after  this  law  had  been  enacted 
the  Governor  sadly  remarked :  "The  administration  of  this  law, 
I  regret  to  say,  has  not  been  as  efficient  as  it  should  be.  Its  failure 
w^as  owing  to  some  extent  to  a  deficiency  in  the  appropriations 
and  to  other  difficulties  incident  to  the  introduction  of  a  new  sys- 
tem of  business.  This  and  other  reforms  so  wisely  commenced 
within  a  short  period,  with  such  additional  retrenchments  as  expe- 
rience may  have  indicated,  wdll  doubtless  be  rigidly  carried  out  in 
the  future  by  the  officers  controlling  that  part  of  the  public 
affairs."  The  next  year  the  Governor  remarked  :  'T  need  not  dis- 
cuss the  consequences  of  the  custom  of  making  debts  on  the  public 


BIGLER,   POLLOCK    AND    PACKER 

works ;  its  errors  are  too  palpable  to  need  refutation  by  argument. 
In  addition  to  the  opportunity  it  afforded  for  extortion  from  the 
State,  if  not  actual  fraud  upon  the  treasury,  the  idea  that  officers 


'»""'"% 

.^\              .:' 

i 

*■  <  '*                Js 

-H-t»«*-^         H| 

^ 

"aW 

A 

& 

.WlK'' ^^^mI^^^^I 

^i^^m 

5^ 

"m^H 

i 

The  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne 


Minister  from  France  to  the  United  States, 
1779-1783;  after  whom  Luzerne  County  was 
named.  Reproduced  for  this  work  from  an 
engraving  in  possession  of  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society 


for  the  time  being  should  be  allowed  to  scatter  the  credit  of  the 
Commonwealth  broadcast,  to  be  redeemed  at  some  future  period 
by  their  successors,  is  a  monstrosity  in  the  economy  of  public 
affairs." 


47 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

Governor  Bigler  frequently  urged  the  payment  of  the  public 
debt  as  one  of  the  greatest  needs  of  the  time.  There  was  not 
much  reduction,  however,  during  his  administration,  although  a 
surplus  of  one  million  dollars  had  been  thus  applied ;  for  nearly  as 
much  had  been  expended  on  the  North  Branch  Canal.  In  1854 
the  Governor  fully  considered  the  desiral)ility  of  selling  the  public 
works.  For  years  the  people  had  been  discussing  the  matter ;  in 
truth,  ever  since  the  former  attempt  to  sell,  the  question  had  been 
agitated.  But  now  the  Governor's  strong  utterance  on  the  subject 
led  to  a  consideration  by  a  committee,  who,  unbiased  apparently 
by  any  interest,  told  far  more  truth  than  had  ever  come  to  light. 
The  legislature  now  took  action  and  voted  to  sell  the  main  line 
for  $10,000,000.  But  there  was  no  purchaser  at  this  price,  and 
Governor  Bigler  retired  from  office  W'ith  the  State  still  in  posses- 
sion of  its  public  works. 

During  Governor  Bigler's  administration  the  evils  of  special 
legislation  were  set  forth  in  all  his  messages.  In  1849  ^  general 
law  to  encourage  manufacturing  corporations  was  passed;  yet 
during  the  next  six  years  not  a  dozen  companies  had  organized 
under  it.  They  still  preferred  to  go  to  the  legislature  and  get 
special  charters.  In  the  legislative  sessions  of  1852  and  1853 
much  time  was  consumed  in  the  consideration  of  special  acts  to 
incorporate  mining  companies.  A  general  law  on  this  subject 
had  been  passed,  and  although  it  was  very  favorable  in  its  terms, 
but  a  single  application  was  made  under  it  for  mining  purposes. 
Among  other  evils  of  legislation  that  had  developed  was  the  sys- 
tem of  "log-rolling,"  or  combining  pernicious  measures  with  good 
ones  into  a  single  general  bill.  By  this  means  many  vicious  laws 
were  passed.  Governor  Bigler  referred  to  this  evil  in  his  mes- 
sage of  1854,  as  follows:  "After  much  reflection  on  the  magni- 
tude of  this  evil — its  vexatious  inroads  upon  private  rights  and  its 
demoralizing  tendency  upon  the  interests  of  the  people,  as  upon 
the  more  elevated  purposes  of  legislation,  I  have  determined  to 
cooperate  with  the  General  Assembly  in  the  application  of  the 


4Uz,^//y^y^'  ■>i^^^^^^'^'^"-^-  -^ 


j^v-<.v,/,  ^^/^.i^^;^-^-'*'  •-^'"^'^^'*''^'''^ 


BIGLER,   POLLOCK   AND    PACKER 

most  efficient  means  which  their  wisdom  may  devise  for  its  re- 
moval; but  in  the  meantime,  as  a  restraining  part  of  the  law-mak- 
ing power,  I  must  beg  to  be  indulged  in  claiming  the  privilege  of 
considering  each  subject  of  legislation  separately,  and  on  its 
merits,  as  contemplated  by  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution.  Hence- 
forth, therefore,  bills  containing  a  variety  of  subjects  of  legisla- 
tion, dissimilar  in  their  character  and  purposes,  cannot  receive  the 
sanction  of  the  present  executive."  This  led  to  an  immediate 
reform  in  the  character  of  legislation.  A  bill  was  passed  requir- 
ing the  subject-matter  of  each  act  to  be  fully  stated  in  its  title. 

In  1854  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  from  Harrisburg  to  Pitts- 
burg, was  completed,  thus  forming  a  line  of  communication  be- 
tween the  East  and  the  West,  and  aiding  powerfully  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  resources  of  the  State.  About  the  same  time,  the 
North  Branch  canal  was  also  completed,  although  work  on  it  had 
been  discontinued  for  more  than  ten  years. 

Governor  Bigler  constantly  used  all  the  influence  of  his  admin- 
istration in  behalf  of  the  public  schools.  In  1854  a  bill  was  pre- 
pared for  the  revision  of  the  school  laws,  and  when  the  measure 
was  passed  the  Governor  promptly  signed  it,  notwithstanding  the 
unfavorable  comments  of  the  press  and  the  opposition  of  a  large 
majority  of  the  people.^  This  new  law  gave  the  school  districts 
corporate  powers ;  fixed  the  minimum  school  term  at  four  months ; 
arranged  a  definite  course  of  study,  and  created  the  office  of 
county  superintendent  of  schools.  In  many  respects  the  act  of 
1854  was  the  most  important  of  all  school  legislation  since  the 
adoption  of  the  system  in  1834.  But  the  days  of  opposition  were 
not  yet  ended,  and  it  required  constant  vigilance  to  prevent  ene- 
mies from  accomplishing  their  work  of  destruction. 

In  1854  Bigler  was  nominated  for  a  second  term,  and  he  at 
once  began  a  vigorous  campaign  for  reelection.  Opposed  to  him 
was  James  Pollock,  a  man  of  rare  culture  and  ability.     In  the 

'Wickersham's  History  of  Education 
in  Pennsylvania,  p.  505. 

3-4  49 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

midst  of  the  canvas  Bigler  was  stricken  down  with  sickness,  and 
thus  was  unable  to  stir  up  his  fohowers  by  his  presence  and  ear- 
nestness. Pollock  had  allied  himself  with  the  American,  or  Know- 
Nothing  party ;  while  he  was  also  an  active  leader  in  the  Free  Soil 
movement.      Bigier   had   violently   opposed   the   Know-Nothing 


Anthony  Wayne's  Homestead 

Near  Paoli.  Still  standing.  Engraved  especial- 
ly for  this  work  from  a  negative  by  D.  E. 
Brinton 

party  from  the  time  of  its  first  organization.  His  attitude  towards 
the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  also  cost  him  many  votes.  As  a  result, 
Pollock  was  elected  Governor  by  a  large  majority,  and  the  wave 
of  Know-Nothingism  swept  a  new  body  of  men  into  power,  many 
of  whom  had  been  but  little  known. 

James  Pollock,  the  new  Governor,  was  born  in  Milton,  North- 
umberland county,  on  September  ii,  1810.     He  received  the  best 


50 


BIGLER,   POLLOCK   AND    PACKER 

educational  training,  preparing  for  college  at  the  Milton  Classical 
academy.  In  1829  he  entered  the  junior  class  of  Princeton  col- 
lege, graduating  two  years  later.  After  graduation  Mr.  Pollock 
became  a  student  at  law  in  the  office  of  Samuel  Hepburn  at  Mil- 
ton. In  1833  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  opened  an  office  in 
his  native  town.  His  public  career  began  in  1835,  when  he  was 
appointed  district  attorney  of  Northumberland  county.  He  was 
elected  to  Congress  in  1844,  and  remained  in  that  body  until  1848. 
In  1850  he  was  appointed  president-judge  of  the  judicial  district 
composed  of  Northumberland,  Montour,  Columbia,  Lycoming 
and  Sullivan  counties.  Elected  Governor  in  1854,  he  served  but 
one  term,  having  refused  to  be  considered  as  a  candidate  for 
renomination. 

Like  his  predecessors,  Governor  Pollock  believed  the  time  had 
long  since  come  for  the  State  to  retire  from  the  transportation 
business.  In  1855  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  company  offered  to 
purchase  the  main  line  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg  for  the 
sum  of  $7,500,000,  or  $4,000,000  for  the  Philadelphia  and  Colum- 
bia railroad.  But  there  was  no  authority  for  accepting  this  offer. 
Finally,  in  May,  1857,  the  legislature  offered  to  sell  the  railroad 
at  the  above  figures,  and  the  lines  were  purchased  by  the  Pennsyl- 
vania company.  The  sum  of  $1,500,000  was  paid  in  cash,  while 
interest-bearinp;  bonds  were  taken  for  the  balance.  Soon  after 
this  steps  were  taken  to  dispose  of  the  other  public  improvements. 
They  had  been  a  source  of  expenditure  for  many  years,  and  the 
proceeds  were  devoted  to  the  payment  of  the  public  debt,  thus 
reducing  the  State  taxes.  Governor  Pollock  congratulated  the 
people  on  the  consummation  of  the  sale  of  the  public  improve- 
ments. Referring  to  the  subject  in  his  message,  he  said :  "The 
propriety  of  separating  the  State  from  the  care  and  control  of  the 
public  works  is  not  only  evident  to  all  who  have  given  the  subject 
a  candid  and  impartial  consideration,  but  the  necessity  is  clearly 
established  by  the  history  of  their  construction  and  management. 
They  have  failed  to  be  a  source  of  revenue  to  the  Commonwealth, 

51 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

and  it  retained  by  the  State  will  require  an  expenditure  in  their 
repair  and  management  largely  exceeding  any  revenue  that,  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances,  can  be  derived  from  them." 

In  the  summer  of  1857  a  financial  storm  swept  over  the  coun- 
try, and  Governor  Pollock  convened  the  legislature  on  October  6 
for  the  purpose  of  offering  some  relief  to  the  banks.  Immediate 
action  was  necessary,  as  many  of  the  banks  had  suspended  specie 
payments  and  their  charters  were  liable  to  forfeiture.  The  trouble 
began  with  the  failure  of  the  Ohio  Title  and  Trust  company,  and 
continued  until  it  had  swept  over  the  entire  country.  The  oldest 
and  most  highly  esteemed  firms  in  Philadelphia  and  other  parts 
of  the  State  went  down,  and  thousands  of  men  and  women  were 
thrown  out  of  employment.  The  banks  were  permitted  to  circu- 
late their  discredited  notes  and  to  pay  dividends  as  though  noth- 
ing had  happened.  On  the  other  hand,  the  public  were  to  blame 
to  a  certain  extent.  If  the  people  had  been  more  cautious  and 
taken  fewer  bank  notes,  they  would  have  suffered  less.  So  long 
as  they  desired  bank  credit  and  were  willing  to  pay  for  it,  the 
banks  accommodated  them.  Had  they  borrowed  less,  neither  they 
nor  the  banks  would  have  been  overwhelmed  in  a  common  fate. 
The  Governor  reviewed  the  trouble  in  a  message,  in  which  he 
said :  "Unlimited  credits  by  corporations  or  individuals  have  and 
ever  will  be  an  unmitigated  evil.  They  contribute  to  rash  specu- 
lation, extravagant  living  and  excessive  over-trading,  always  sure 
to  be  followed  by  ruinous  revulsions.  The  remedy,  to  be  perma- 
nent and  effectual,  must  accord  with  the  natural  and  necessary 
laws  of  trade.  The  currency  of  a  country  forms  no  exception  to 
those  laws."  The  Governor  then  recommended  a  system  of  free 
banking,  based  on  undoubted  public  securities  and  coin  in  such 
proportion  to  circulation  and  deposits  as  might  be  deemed  suffi- 
cient to  secure  their  conversion  into  specie  on  demand.  This 
system  had  been  introduced  in  New  York,  and  was  proving  a 
great  advance  on  any  other.  Thus  far  banking  had  been  a  con- 
fused sea  of  experiment  from  which  the  people  had  learned  hardly 

52 


BIGLER,    POLLOCK   AND    PACKER 

anything.  But  relief  was  not  far  off.  In  the  midst  of  the  Civil 
war  the  national  banking  system  was  evolved,  containing  many 
of  the  best  features  of  the  free  banking  plans.  Thus,  responsible 
banking  finally  took  the  place  of  irresponsible  credit,  after  many 
years  filled  with  sad  experiences  in  finance. 

A  learned  man  himself,  Governor  Pollock  held  broad  and  lib- 
eral views  on  education.  He  devoted  much  space  in  his  messages 
to  a  defense  of  the  free  school  system.  During  his  administra- 
tion an  independent  school  department  was  organized,  and  the 
State  normal  schools  were  established.  Soon  after  his  inaugura- 
tion he  declared  himself  in  favor  of  the  county  superintendency, 
an  office  just  created  in  the  law  of  1854.  In  all  his  messages  the 
Governor  referred  to  the  necessity  of  normal  schools  for  the  train- 
ing of  teachers.  Finally,  in  1857,  an  act  was  passed  "to  provide 
for  the  due  training  of  teachers  for  the  common  schools  of  the 
State."  The  Governor  signed  this  act  on  May  20,  and  immedi- 
ately a  normal  school  was  organized  at  Millersville,  and,  in  1859, 
was  officially  recognized.  In  referring  to  the  progress  of  educa- 
tion, the  Governor  spoke  as  follows  in  his  message  of  1857  :  "Our 
educational  system  is  slowly  but  surely  conquering  the  prejudices 
and  gaining  the  confidence  of  the  people.  Under  the  fostering 
care  of  liberal  and  enlightened  legislation,  its  ultimate  triumph  is 
certain.  When  the  system  was  first  introduced  it  was  supposed 
that  it  could  be  perfected  and  forced  into  general  and  vigorous 
operation  by  the  mere  will  of  the  Legislature.  Experience  has 
proved  that  in  this,  as  in  every  other  great  social  and  moral  re- 
form, time  and  that  consent  which  arises  from  a  radical  change  in 
the  public  mind  were  required.  This  slow  process  of  the  acclima- 
tion of  the  new  system  to  our  social  and  moral  atmosphere  has 
been  in  operation  for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  it  is  now  evident 
that  the  period  for  another  effective  interposition  of  legislative 
aid  and  authority  in  favor  of  our  noble  system  of  common  schools 
has  arrived."  After  1852,  the  State  began  to  show  a  more  liberal 
spirit  towards  higher  education.     In  1854  the  foundations  of  the 

53 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

present  State  college  were  laid  by  the  establishment  of  a  school 
for  farmers,  known  as  the  Farmer's  High  school.  The  next  year 
the  charter  of  the  institution  was  amended  and  the  purposes  of 
the  school  were  set  forth  as  follows :  "The  education  of  youth 
in  the  various  branches  of  science,  learning  and  practical  agricul- 
ture, as  they  are  connected 
J^  with    each    other."      Several 

^^  gifts  of  land  were  offered  to 

/        \  the  State ;  but  that  of  General 

^  James  Irwin  of  200  acres  in 

Centre  county  was  accepted. 
As  much  more  was  soon  pur- 
chased, and  the  State  began 
this  new  educational  enter- 
prise. To  provide  funds  for 
erecting  and  equipping  the 
buildings,  the  State  Agricul- 
tural society  gave  $11,865; 
the  trustees  raised  $25,000  by 
subscription,  and  in  1857  the 
legislature  appropriated  $25,- 
000,  and  as  much  more  on  con- 
dition that  a  similar  amount 
should  be  contributed  by  indi- 
viduals. This  amount  was 
raised,  and  on  Feb.  20,  1859, 
the  institution  was  opened. 
This  school  has  grown  into 
the  flourishing  "Pennsylvania  State  College"  of  our  day,  a  name 
which  it  acquired  in  1874. 

Having  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  renomination,  Governor 
Pollock  retired  at  the  end  of  his  term  to  his  native  town  and 
resumed  the  practice  of  law.  The  campaign  for  the  governorship 
in   1857  ^^''is  remarkably  active,  as  there  were  three  prominent 


Anthony  Wayne's  Monument 

In  historic  St.  David's  Episcopal  church  yard, 
near  Radnor,  where  Wayne's  bones  were  in- 
terred after  their  removal  from  the  first  grave 
at  Erie.  Reproduced  for  this  work  from  a  neg- 
ative by  D.   E.   Brinton 


54 


BIGLER,   POLLOCK   AND   PACKER 

candidates  in  the  field.  The  Democrats  nominated  WilHam  F. 
Packer ;  the  Repubhcans  placed  in  the  field  Hon.  David  Wilmot, 
of  "Proviso"  fame;  while  the  Native  Americans  named  Hon. 
Isaac  Hazlehurst.  After  a  spirited  campaign,  Mr.  Packer  was 
elected  by  a  majority  of  fourteen  thousand  votes  over  both  the 
other  candidates.  The  new  Governor  was  a  native  of  Centre  coun- 
ty, born  on  April  2,  1807.  After  attending  the  country  schools 
until  the  age  of  thirteen,  he  entered  the  office  of  the  "Public 
Inquirer,"  at  Sunbury,  to  learn  the  art  of  printing.  He  finished 
his  apprenticeship  in  the  office  of  the  "Bellefonte  Patriot,"  and  in 
1825  secured  a  clerkship  in  the  office  of  the  recorder  of  Lycoming 
county.  The  same  winter  he  accepted  a  position  as  journeyman 
printer  on  the  "Pennsylvania  Intelligencer"  at  Harrisburg.  Here 
he  labored  two  years,  after  which,  in  1827,  he  became  a  law  stu- 
dent in  the  office  of  Joseph  B.  Anthony  at  Williamsport.  Mr. 
Packer  was  never  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  turned  his  attention  to 
journalism,  purchasing  an  interest  in  the  "Lycoming  Gazette," 
Williamsport,  which  he  held  until  1836.  He  then  founded,  in 
connection  with  Messrs.  Barrett  and  Parke,  the  "Keystone,"  a 
Democratic  newspaper,  at  Harrisburg,  continuing  as  a  member 
of  the  firm  until  1841.  In  1842  Governor  Porter  appointed  Mr. 
Packer  to  the  office  of  auditor-general,  which  he  held  until  the 
end  of  the  term.  In  1847  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  and 
was  chosen  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  He  was 
promoted  to  the  State  Senate  in  1849,  '^^'^^  i"  ^^^  Senate  and  House 
alike  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  legislative  work. 

Mr.  Packer  was  an  ardent  friend  of  James  Buchanan,  and 
labored  zealously  to  secure  his  nomination  for  the  Presidency. 
Mr.  Buchanan  v.as  inaugurated  about  the  time  of  Packer's  nomi- 
nation for  Governor.  The  clouds  were  rapidly  forming  in  Kan- 
sas, and  the  slave-holders  were  making  a  desperate  effi3rt  to  con- 
trol the  State  and  thus  extend  their  sway.  Buchanan  had  been  in 
Washington  only  a  few  days  when  he  received  a  letter  from 
Packer,  which,  in  view  of  his  prophetic  utterances,  as  well  as  hon- 

55 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

est  advice,  is  worthy  of  a  place  here  :  "Our  people,"  he  says,  "con- 
fidently expect  that  your  administration  will  see  that  equal  and 
exact  justice  shall  be  done  to  all  parties — the  free-State  as  well  as 
the  pro-slavery  men — and  they  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short 
of  that.  We  approve  of  the  Kansas  bill ;  but,  in  God's  name,  let 
its  provisions  be  honestly  carried  out;  let  the  law  be  faithfully  ex- 
ecuted. Let  the  conduct  of  the  public  agents  in  Kansas  not  only 
be  right,  but  let  it  appear  to  be  right.  If  slavery  should  be  insti- 
tuted by,  or  under,  a  slave-holding  executive,  and  Kansas  should 
claim  admission  as  a  slave  State,  it  does  not  require  a  prophet  to 
foretell  the  consequences  north  of  Mason  &  Dixon's  line.  The 
Democratic  party,  which  has  stood  by  the  Constitution  and  the 
rights  of  the  South  with  such  unflinching  fidelity,  would  be  stricken 
down  in  the  few  remaining  States  where  it  is  yet  in  the  ascend- 
ency ;  the  balance  of  power  would  be  lost ;  and  black  Republicans 
would  rule  this  nation,  or  civil  war  and  disunion  would  inevitably 
follow.  What,  then,  is  to  be  done?  Will  you  permit  me  to  make 
a  suggestion?  The  post  of  honor  and  renown,  if  successfully  and 
satisfactorily  filled,  at  this  moment  in  the  gift  of  the  President,  is 
the  Governorship  of  Kansas.  Send  one  of  the  first  men  of  the 
nation  there — some  gentleman  who  enjoys  the  confidence  of  the 
North  and  the  South — and  let  him  cover  himself  with  glory  by  a 
fearless  and  a  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  station.  Sus- 
tain him,  then,  with  the  whole  power  of  the  government,  and  fol- 
low with  swift  vengeance  any  party  that  dares  to  raise  a  hand 
against  the  law  or  its  prompt  and  faithful  execution.  The  time 
for  trifling  is  past.  Bold,  efficient  action  is  required.  To  waver 
or  to  vacillate  is  to  fail.  Who,  then,  should  be  appointed?  If 
General  Scott  would  accept  of  the  position,  and  if  the  duties  are 
compatible  with  those  of  the  military  station  he  now  holds,  I 
answer,  appoint  General  Winfield  Scott.  He  has  the  confidence 
of  the  nation.  He  is  acceptable  to  the  South,  having  been  born 
and  reared  in  Virginia;  and  he  is  not  unacceptable  to  the  North, 
inasmuch  as  he  now  resides  there.     If  requested  by  the  President, 

56 


BIGLER,    POLLOCK   AND    PACKER 

in  view  of  the  importance  of  the  mission,  I  do  not  think  that  he 
would  decHne.  However,  let  some  such  man  be  appointed — some 
man  well  known  to  the  American  people,  and  in  whom  they  con- 
fide, and  the  result  will  be  the  same.  All  will  be  well.  Other- 
wise, I  tremble  for  the  result." 

A  strong  partisan,  yet  intent  on  doing  right.  Governor  Packer 
sought  to  follow  in  the  way  of  his  predecessors,  and  lift  the  State 
out  of  the  difficulties  caused  by  its  unwise  undertakings  in  the 
transportation  business  and  experiences  in  banking.  He  referred 
to  this  subject  in  his  message  of  1859,  as  follows:  "The  ruinous 
losses  which  have  fallen  upon  the  people  during  the  financial  pres- 
sure of  the  past  eighteen  months  suggest  the  necessity  of  prevent- 
ing their  recurrence.  Although  many  causes  may  have  combined 
to  produce  these  disasters,  it  is  too  plain  to  admit  of  doubt  that 
our  banking  system  has  been  one  of  the  most  prominent.  The 
value  of  the  precious  metals  and  the  wages  of  labor  are  always 
affected  by  the  abundance  or  scarcity  of  the  paper  medium  re- 
ceived as  a  substitute  for  gold  and  silver  coin.  The  power  of  the 
State  to  authorize  a  paper  currency  through  the  agency  of  the 
banks  has  been  so  long  exercised  and  acknowledged  throughout 
the  Union  that  it  is  no  longer  an  open  question.  But  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  the  power  has  been  greatly  abused.  The  dele- 
gation of  this  attribute  of  sovereignty  to  a  number  of  irrespon- 
sible corporations  without  proper  checks  to  limit  its  exercise,  and 
without  providing  any  security  whatever  for  the  redemption  of 
the  issues  thus  authorized,  has  been  attended  with  evils  of  the 
most  alarming  character.  These  corporations  are  practically  made 
the  exclusive  judges  of  the  amount  of  paper  currency  to  be  fur- 
nished to  the  people,  and  have  the  exclusive  power  to  contract  or 
expand  their  circulation  at  pleasure.  Depositors  and  other  ordi- 
nary creditors  of  banks  need  legislation  for  their  protection. 
Every  one  who  has  direct  dealings  with  these  institutions,  either  as 
depositor  or  otherwise,  enters  into  such  engagements  voluntarily 
for  his  own  advantage,  and  may  be  safely  left  to  his  own  vigilance 

57 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

and  the  ordinary  remedies  of  the  law  for  his  protection.  But  the 
millions  of  people  engaged  in  industrious  pursuits,  the  farmer, 
the  mechanic,  the  merchant  and  the  laboring  man,  are  under  an 
imperious  necessity  to  receive  for  their  merchandise  and  their 


The  Wayne  Kettle 

General  Anthony  Wayne  died  in  Erie  in  1796 
and  was  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  flagstaff  at 
the  old  block  house.  In  1809,  when  Colonel 
Isaac  Wayne  came  to  Erie  to  take  the  bones  of 
the  general  to  Radnor,  the  body  was  found  to 
be  almost  perfectly  preserved.  _  As  Colonel 
Wayne  drove  the  entire  distance,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  take  the  whole  body  back,  and  Dr.  J. 
C.  Wallace  was  engaged  to  reduce  it  to  a 
skeleton,  which  he  did  in  the  kettle  from  which 
the  illustration  was  made  for  this  work.  The 
kettle  is  about  three  feet  in  diameter  and  fifteen 
inches  deep,  and  is  in  the  museum  department 
of  the  Erie  Public  Library 

labor  the  ordinary  paper  currency  of  the  country.  It  is  impos- 
sible for  persons  of  this  description  to  investigate  the  concerns  of 
every  institution  whose  notes  are  in  circulation.  But  no  investi- 
gation could  save  them  from  the  losses  arising  from  the  defaults 
and  frauds  of  bank  ofificers  and  the  insolvency  of  bank  bor- 
rowers." 


58 


BIGLER,   POLLOCK   AND   PACKER 

From  these  recommendations  at  last  there  issued  a  system 
of  free  banking,  with  authority  to  issue  notes  based  on  real  secur- 
ity deposited  with  the  State.  Nearly  ninety  years  had  been  spent 
in  finding  out  how  to  issue  a  safe  kind  of  paper  money,  but  at  last 
the  question  was  solved.  This  system  was  by  no  means  perfect, 
but  it  was  so  much  better  than  any  other  that  all  could  rejoice  over 
its  introduction. 

During  Governor  Packer's  term  the  end  came  to  the  State's 
experiment  in  building  and  managing  canals  and  railroads.  In 
1859  the  Delaware  division  was  sold  for  $1,775,000,  the  Upper 
and  Lower  North  Branch  divisions  for  $1,600,000  and  the  West 
Branch  and  Suscjuehanna  divisions  for  $500,000.  The  Sunbury 
and  Erie  railroad  was  the  purchaser.  Commenting  on  these  sales, 
Governor  Packer  said:  "Whatever  differences  of  opinion  may, 
at  any  time,  have  been  entertained  in  regard  to  the  propriety  of  the 
details  of  the  legislation  authorizing  the  sale  of  the  main  line  or 
the  branches,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  the  public  welfare 
will,  in  every  respect,  be  vastly  promoted  by  the  transfer  of  the 
management  of  the  public  works  from  the  State  to  individual 
owners.  The  short  experience  that  we  have  had  already  proves 
conclusively  that  the  Commonwealth  is  greatly  the  gainer  in  a 
financial  point  of  view,  and  it  has  equally  been  demonstrated  that 
the  people  at  large  have  been  as  well,  if  not  better,  accommodated 
by  the  change.  It  would,  in  my  judgment,  be  a  public  calamity  if, 
by  the  happening  of  any  contingency,  the  Commonwealth  should 
be  constrained  to  again  become  the  owner,  and  resume  the  man- 
agement of  any  portion  of  the  public  improvements." 

Thus  the  State  finally  closed  an  experiment  which  had  been 
tried  for  thirty-five  years.  With  the  sale  of  the  public  works  the 
functions  of  the  government  were  once  more  reduced  to  their 
proper  proportions,  and  the  State  was  relieved  of  a  burden  which 
was  becoming  heavier  every  day. 

Governor  Packer  was  an  ardent  friend  of  popular  education. 
One  of  his  first  duties  as  executive  of  the  State  was  to  defend  the 

59 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

new  school  department  which  had  just  been  created.  He  not  only 
recommended  that  this  department  should  remain  separate,  but 
that  it  should  be  "fully  organized  and  effective."  He  said :  "The 
mere  care  and  promotion  of  our  system  of  common  schools,  im- 
portant and  extensive  as  it  obviously  is,  should  not  be  the  sole 
object  of  such  a  department.  If  it  is  true  that  the  power  to  punish 
crime  includes  also  the  right  to  prevent  it  by  providing  for  the 
proper  intellectual  and  moral  training  of  the  people,  it  would 
seem  to  follow  that  the  department  charged  with  the  latter  mo- 
mentous duty  should  also  be  in  possession  of  all  the  resources  and 
subjects  of  information  calculated  to  shed  light  upon  the  object 
of  its  action.  Hence  the  collection,  arrangement  and  practical  de- 
ductions from  population  and  industrial  statistics;  from  natural 
defects,  such  as  deafness  and  dumbness,  blindness  and  lunacy; 
from  crime  in  its  various  forms  and  developments ;  together  with 
such  control  over  all  the  literary  and  scientific  institutions  in  the 
State  as  shall  bring  their  full  condition  into  view  should  also 
belong  to  the  same  department."  The  Governor,  therefore,  urged 
the  establishment  of  a  department  of  public  instruction,  endowed 
with  ample  powers,  so  that  the  educational  work  of  the  State 
might  be  carried  on  with  vigor  and  promptness.  He  also  favored 
liberal  appropriations  to  the  normal  schools,  so  that  the  teachers 
could  be  given  the  training  they  so  much  needed.  A  great  deal  of 
vicious  school  legislation  was  prevented  by  Governor  Packer's 
timely  vetoes.  The  enemies  of  the  normal  schools  introduced 
measures  at  every  session  of  the  legislature  which,  if  adopted, 
would  have  destroyed  these  schools.  But  the  Governor  prevented 
this  mischief  by  freely  using  the  veto  power.  The  school  system 
was  yet  in  an  experimental  stage,  and  was  in  constant  danger  of 
special  legislation.  This  peril  threatened  the  schools  until  1874, 
when  the  new  Constitution  prohibited  such  forms  of  legislation. 
The  angry  strife  in  Congress  over  the  question  of  slavery 
overshadowed  all  local  issues  in  the  State  at  that  time.  Governor 
Packer  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  theory  of  popular  sovereignty, 

60 


BIGLER,   POLLOCK   AND    PACKER 

as  advocated  by  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  He  frequently  reverted  to 
this  subject  in  his  messages  to  the  legislature,  particularly  in  that 
of  January,  1859,  when  he  said  :  "During  the  angry  feelings  which 
this  controversy  has  aroused  the  theory  has  been  started,  and 
insisted  upon,  that  it  will  henceforward  be  the  duty  of  Congress 
to  protect  slavery  in  the  territories,  if  the  people  of  the  territories 
shall  fail  to  do  so.  Such  a  doctrine,  no  matter  how  sanctioned  or 
supported,  will  shake  the  very  pillars  of  our  constitutional  fabric. 
It  would  compel  every  territory  to  elevate  property  in  slaves  above 
every  other  description  of  property,  and  to  establish  a  slave  code 
in  its  early  municipal  regulations ;  or  else  it  would  convert  the 
Congress  into  a  theater  of  crimination  and  confusion,  and  fill  the 
whole  country  with  strife.  Regarding  myself  as  fully  committed 
to  the  doctrine  of  popular  sovereignty  in  its  broadest  sense,  I  can 
never  subscribe  to  the  theory  of  Congressional  intervention,  as 
understood  and  supported  by  the  opponents  of  this  doctrine.  A 
theory  equally  heretical  has  been  advanced  in  another  portion 
of  the  Union.  It  has  been  held  that  this  government,  divided  into 
free  and  slave  States,  as  it  was  framed  by  our  revolutionary  fath- 
ers, cannot  endure — that  all  must  become  free,  or  all  become  slave. 
When  such  a  doctrine  shall  be  enforced,  the  Constitution  will  have 
been  subverted.  State  sovereignty  prostrated.  State  rights  disre- 
garded, and  the  liberty  of  the  people  destroyed.  It  should  meet 
an  indignant  rebuke  from  every  lover  of  his  country,  and  the 
blood-bought  right  of  the  people  and  the  States  to  self-govern- 
ment." 

John  Brown's  raid  at  Harper's  Ferry,  in  1859,  caused  a  pop- 
ular excitement  and  bitter  feeling  in  all  parts  of  the  State.  But 
when  Brown  was  hanged,  on  December  2,  there  were  many  pro- 
tests of  indignation.  The  feeling  ran  so  high  in  Philadelphia  that 
it  was  necessary  to  convey  his  body  secretly  through  the  city.  The 
authorities  of  the  Southern  States  began  to  fear  for  the  w^elfare 
of  their  sons  who  were  attending  the  educational  institutions  in 
Philadelphia.    This  led  Governor  Wise,  of  Virginia,  to  request  the 

61 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

young  men  from  the  South  at  the  Philadelphia  medical  colleges  to 
withdraw  and  finish  their  education  in  the  South.  Many  accepted 
this  invitation,  and  left  at  once  for  their  homes. 

The  presidential  campaign  of  i860  was  accompanied  by  the 
contest  for  the  governorship  of  Pennsylvania.  While  the  Demo- 
cratic party  was  split  on  the  question  of  the  presidency,  that  divi- 
sion did  not  extend  to  local  issues.  The  Repul)licans  nominated 
Curtin  for  Governor ;  while  the  Democrats  united  in  the  support  of 
Henry  D.  Foster.  After  an  exciting  contest,  Curtin  was  elected 
by  a  majority  of  thirty-two  thousand  votes,  while  on  the  6th  of 
November  Abraham  Lincoln  was  chosen  President  of  the  United 
States.  Following  her  threats.  South  Carolina,  on  December  20, 
passed  an  ordinance  of  secession,  declaring  herself  to  be  a  free 
and  independent  State.  The  possible  dissolution  of  the  Union 
caused  great  excitement  in  Pennsylvania.  All  eyes  were  upon  this 
State  on  account  of  her  geographical  position,  separated  from  the 
slave  States  merely  by  an  imaginary  line.  Thus,  all  parties  looked 
to  Pennsylvania  to  use  her  great  power  and  influence  in  avert- 
ing an  open  conflict. 

Governor  Packer's  last  message  was  sent  to  the  legislature 
January  2d,  1861,  and  a  few  days  afterward  he  retired  from 
office  in  favor  of  Governor  Curtin.  In  that  message  the  Governor 
referred  briefly  to  the  general  condition  and  affairs  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, and  called  attention  to  the  trouble  with  certain  rail- 
road companies  which  had  purchased  portions  of  the  system  of 
public  works  and  the  difficulty  in  collecting  the  moneys  due  there- 
for; also  referred  to  the  educational  system  then  in  operation 
under  existing  laws,  and  its  gradual  outspreading  and  increasing 
efficiency ;  also  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  last  preceding 
legislature  had  passed  a  free  banking  act,  thus  making  a  radical 
change  for  the  better  in  the  State  financial  system ;  and  he  sug- 
gested, in  view  of  the  fact  that  there  had  been  a  rapid  increase  in 
the  number  of  private  banks,  that  they  be  placed  under  proper 
legislative  restriction. 

62 


Wayne  Block  House,  Erie 


This  block  house  is  a  reproduction  of  the  origi- 
nal in  which  General  Wayne  died,  and  stands 
on  the  site  where  he  was  first  buried.  From  a 
negative  made  especially  for  this  work 


BIGLER,    POLLOCK    AND    PACKER 

But  the  one  subject  which  appears  to  have  caused  the  greatest 
anxiety  in  the  executive  mind,  and  evidently  created  the  gravest 
apprehension  among  people  of  the  entire  State,  was  the  extra- 
ordinary and  alarming  condition  of  national  affairs,  which  served 
to  demand  immediate  attention  both  in  the  State  and  the  Federal 
legislatures.  On  the  20th  day  of  December  last,  says  the  Gover- 
nor on  this  subject,  the  convention  of  South  Carolina  by  unani- 
mous vote  declared  "that  the  union  now  subsisting  between  South 
Carolina  and  the  other  States,  under  the  name  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  is  hereby  dissolved,"  and  the  action  already 
taken  in  several  other  southern  States  indicates  an  intention  to 
follow  the  example. 

Speaking  still  more  directly  to  the  subject  which  then  was 
uppermost  in  the  public  mind,  the  Governor  said :  Pennsylvania 
is  included  in  the  list  of  States  that  are  charged  with  having 
refused  compliance  with  that  mandate  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States  which  declares  that  no  person  held  to  service  or 
labor  in  one  State,  under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another, 
shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  dis- 
charged with  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up,  on 
claim  by  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

The  imputation  of  refusal  on  the  part  of  Pennsylvania  to  com- 
l)ly  with  the  requirements  of  the  Federal  fugitive  slave  laws. 
Governor  Packer  took  occasion  to  deny  with  some  warmth,  and 
he  asserted  that  this  State  had  been  almost  invariably  influenced 
by  a  proper  appreciation  of  her  ow^n  obligations  and  a  high  regard 
for  the  rights,  the  feelings  and  the  interests  of  her  sister  States. 
Briefly  the  executive  reviewed  the  various  enactments  of  the 
State  legislature  on  the  question  of  slavery  from  1780,  when  the 
first  act  was  passed  for  the  gradual  abolition  of  the  institution  of 
slavery  within  her  borders.  The  first  act  of  Congress  providing 
for  the  rendition  of  fugitives  from  justice  or  labor  was  passed  in 
1793,  and  originated  in  the  refusal  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia 
to  deliver  up  on  the  requisition  of  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania 

3-5  65 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

three  persons  who  had  been  indicted  for  kidnapping  a  negro  and 
carrying  him  into  Virginia. 

The  somewhat  pecuhar  geographical  position  of  Pennsylvania 
among  the  States  of  the  Union  during  the  days  of  slavery  and  the 
numerous  attempts,  sometimes  unsuccessful,  to  enforce  the  harsh 
provisions  of  the  fugitive  slave  laws,  gave  rise  to  frequent  mis- 
construction of  the  attitude  of  this  State  regarding  the  law  itself, 
and  frequently  the  State  and  its  authorities  were  charged  with 
collusion  with  those  philanthropic  individuals  who  controlled  the 
operation  of  the  historic  underground  railroad  leading  from  the 
slave  States  through  this  and  New  York  State  to  Gerrit  Smith's 
famous  colony,  and  thence  to  the  Canadian  border.  At  the  time 
of  which  we  write  Delaware,  Maryland  and  Virginia  were  among 
the  so-called  slave  States,  and  their  authorities  and  people  were 
insistent  in  their  demands  for  the  rigid  enforcement  and  close 
observance  of  the  laws  on  the  part  of  the  States  where  slavery 
was  not  recognized  as  an  institution;  and  as  Pennsylvania  bor- 
dered on  each  of  the  States  mentioned,  and  had  long  before 
abolished  slavery,  it  was  only  natural  that  escaping  slaves  should 
first  seek  temporary  lodgment  and  freedom  on  her  territory, 
where  they  w^ere  furnished  with  protection  and  sustenance,  and 
thence  were  quietly  sent  farther  north ;  but  neither  protection  nor 
sustenance  were  furnished  them  by  the  State  or  its  officials,  but  by 
persons  interested  in  the  work  of  freeing  slaves  from  bondage 
and  providing  them  with  homes  in  the  States  where  all  labor  was 
free  and  was  paid  for  according  to  its  worth.  Thus  it  was  that 
Pennsylvania  was  charged  with  open  defiance  of  the  laws  of  Con- 
gress, because  thousands  and  possibly  tens  of  thousands  of  fugi- 
tive slaves  w^ere  temporarily  sheltered  within  its  borders ;  thus  it 
was  because  of  the  hatred  born  of  this  very  fact  that  Pennsylvania 
was  regarded  as  the  bitterest  enemy  of  the  South  during  the  latter 
days  of  slavery  dominion  and  in  the  terrible  internecine  conflict 
w^hich  followed ;  and  thus  it  was  because  of  the  repeated  attempts 
to  bring  into  public  condemnation  the  people  and  authorities   of 

66 


BIGLER,   POLLOCK   AND    PACKER 

Pennsylvania  in  punishment  of  their  so-called  offenses  that  Gov- 
ernor Packer  in  his  last  annual  message  gave  voice  to  these 
words : 

"Every  attempt  upon  the  part  of  individuals,  or  of  organized 
societies,  to  lead  the  people  away  from  their  government,  to  induce 
them  to  violat'^  any  of  the  provisions  of  the  constitution,  or  to 
incite  insurrections  in  any  of  the  States  of  this  Union,  ought  to 
be  prohibited  by  law  as  crimes  of  a  treasonable  nature.  It  is  of 
the  first  importance  to  the  perpetuity  of  this  great  Union  that  the 
hearts  of  the  people  and  the  action  of  their  constituted  authorities 
should  be  in  unison  in  giving  a  faithful  support  to  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States.  The  people  of  Pennsylvania  are  devoted 
to  the  Union.  They  will  follow  its  stars  and  stripes  through 
every  peril.  But,  l^efore  assuming  the  high  responsibilities  now 
dimly  foreshadoAved,  it  is  their  solemn  duty  to  remove  every  just 
cause  of  complaint  against  themselves,  so  that  they  may  stand 
before  High  Heaven  and  the  civilized  world  without  fear  and 
without  reproach,  ready  to  devote  their  lives  and  their  fortunes  to 
the  support  of  the  best  form  of  government  that  has  ever  been 
devised  by  the  wisdom  of  man." 

In  order  to  avert  civil  war.  Governor  Packer  proposed  that 
the  two  hostile  sections  compromise  their  difference  by  constitu- 
tional amendment,  or  in  a  convention  of  the  people.  His  term 
ended,  however,  in  January,  1861,  before  any  of  his  suggestions 
could  be  acted  upon ;  and  Governor  Curtin  assumed  the  great  re- 
sponsibility of  guiding  the  affairs  of  the  Commonwealth  through 
the  Great  Rebellion. 


67 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CURTIN'S  ADMINISTRATION— i86i-icS67 

ON  the  15th  of  January,  1861,  Andrew  Gregg  Curlin  suc- 
ceeded to  the  governorship  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  the 
first  distinctively  Republican  incumbent  of  that  high  office 
in  the  State.  Only  a  few  years  previous  to  this  time  the  Repub- 
lican party  had  perfected  an  organization  in  the  country,  and  it 
comprised  several  component  political  elements,  some  harmonious, 
others  discordant,  but  united  for  an  especial  purpose  in  the 
gubernatorial  campaign  of  i860,  they  safely  carried  the  election 
and  placed  Mr.  Curtin  in  the  chair.  The  result  at  that  particular 
time  was  exceedingly  fortunate,  as  trouble  with  the  South  was 
already  threatening  the  overthrow  of  our  national  institu- 
tion, and  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  had  just  been  elected  to  the  presi- 
dency, was  in  great  need  of  the  services,  the  advice  and  the  hearty 
support  of  such  men  as  Governor  Curtin  proved  himself  to  be. 

In  speaking  thus  freely  of  Governor  Curtin  and  his  qualities 
the  writer  in  no  sense  seeks  to  cast  reflection  on  any  of  his  pre- 
decessors, for  it  so  happened  that  during  the  trying  period  of  dis- 
cussion and  frequent  disputes  and  more  frecjuent  litigations 
between  the  people  of  the  slave  States  and  those  of  States  which 
had  abolished  slavery,  each  incumbent  of  the  governorship  in 
Pennsylvania  stood  true  to  the  anti-slavery  side  of  the  question 
and  steadfastly  maintained  the  principles  declared  in  the  State 
nearly  a  century  before.  Governor  Packer  was  a  radical  Demo- 
crat and  a  bitter  opponent  to  all  that  savored  of  what  he  termed 

68~ 


CURTIN'S   ADMINISTRATION 

"Black  Republicanism,"  which  presumably  included  the  ultra 
anti-slavery  advocates,  and  while  he  had  no  consideration  for 
men  who  held  to  those  teachings,  he  at  the  same  time  showed  the 
highest  regard  for  the  laws,  no  matter  by  whom  enacted  or  advo- 
cated. His  attitude  in  relation  to  the  fugitive  slave  laws  showed 
his  truly  patriotic  spirit,  and  in  the  determined  stand  he  took 
regarding  their  enforcement,  he  won  the  gratitude  of  all  the 
political  elements  of  his  time. 

Governor  Curtin  was  born  at  Bellefonte,  Pennsylvania,  on 
April  23,  1815.  He  was  educated  at  the  schools  of  his  native 
town,  and  he  also  studied  at  the  Harrisburg  Academy,  under  the 
tuition  of  John  M.  Keagy.  His  literary  education  was  completed 
at  the  academy  at  Milton,  Pa.,  then  in  charge  of  Rev.  David  Kirk- 
patrick.  Young  Curtin  then  returned  to  his  home,  and  began  the 
study  of  law  under  the  direction  of  William  W.  Potter,  a  promi- 
nent lawyer  of  that  day.  Curtin  completed  his  legal  studies  at 
the  Law  School  of  Dickinson  College,  after  which,  in  1839,  he 
opened  an  office  at  Bellefonte  in  partnership  with  Hon.  John 
Blanchard.  He  advanced  rapidly  in  his  profession,  and  being  an 
effective  speaker,  was  soon  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  bar. 

In  politics,  Curtin  started  out  as  an  ardent  Whig,  and  in  1840. 
he  took  a  prominent  part  in  Harrison's  campaign  for  the  presi- 
dency of  the  United  States.  In  1844,  he  spoke  in  nearly  every 
county  of  Pennsylvania  in  behalf  of  Henry  Clay,  achieving  a  great 
reputation  as  a  political  orator.  His  name  appeared  on  the  Whig 
electoral  tickets  of  1848,  and  1852,  and  he  took  an  active  part  in 
both  of  these  campaigns.  In  1855,  Governor  Pollock  appointed 
Curtin  to  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  his  duties 
including  that  of  superintendent  of  common  schools.  In  this  po- 
sition, he  had  an  opportunity  to  display  his  rare  executive  abilities. 
The  common  school  system  was  in  the  formative  period  of  its 
existence,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  strong  opposition  ;  but  through 
Curtin's  labors,  the  system  w-as  preserved  and  a  number  of  essen- 

69 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

tial  features  were  added.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office 
in  1858,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  at  Bellefonte,  and  he  also 
took  an  active  interest  in  opening  the  railway  lines  through  the 
central  part  of  the  State.  Elected  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  in 
i860,  he  was  thus  called  to  an  office  where  he  exhibited  the  rarest 
genius  as  a  statesman,  and  earned  the  deserving  title  of  "War 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania." 


William  Crawford's  Cabin,  Connellsville 

Crawford  led  an  expedition  against  the  Indians 
at  Sandusky,  failed,  and  was  put  to  death  with 
torture.     From  drawing  in  Carnegie  Museum 

When,  on  January  15,  1861,  Governor  Curtin  assumed  the 
duties  of  chief  executive  of  this  great  Commonwealth  the  clouds 
of  war  were  beginning  to  darken  the  land.  The  new  administra- 
tion found  the  State  to  contain  a  total  of  2,906,215  inhabitants 
(census  of  i860)  chiefly  engaged  in  trade,  commerce,  manufac- 
ture, mining  and  agriculture.  The  institutions  of  State  govern- 
ment were  established  upon  a  firm  basis,  the  people  in  every  sec- 
tion were  apparently  contented,  and  only  the  darkening  shadow  of 

70 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

approaching  war  disturbed  their  peace  of  mind.  According  to  the 
reports  of  the  treasurer's  department  in  i860,  the  total  indebted- 
ness of  the  State  was  $37,969,847.50,  yet  the  revenues  and  re- 
sources were  such  that  this  occasioned  no  uneasiness  in  official 
circles,  and  the  Governor  in  his  inaugural  address  took  occasion 
to  congratulate  the  legislature  and  the  public  upon  the  healthful- 
ness  of  prevailing  conditions  and  the  prosperous  outlook  for  the 
future.  But  there  was  that  in  the  Governor's  first  address  which 
betokened  approaching  danger  to  national  life,  for  he  was  the 
friend  and  adviser  of  the  newly  chosen  President  and  was  enabled 
to  speak  with  an  understanding  of  the  situation.  Let  us  quote 
from  his  public  utterances  regarding  the  prevailing  conditions 
and  their  relation  to  the  future: 

'The  supremacy  of  the  National  Government  has  been  so 
fully  admitted  and  so  long  cherished  by  the  people  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  so  completely  has  the  conviction  of  its  nationality  and 
sovereignty  directed  their  political  action,  that  they  are  surprised 
at  the  pertinacity  with  which  a  portion  of  the  people  elsewhere 
maintain  the  opposite  view.  The  traditions  of  the  past,  the  re- 
corded teachings  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic,  the  security  of 
their  freedom  and  prosperity,  and  their  hopes  for  the  future,  are 
all  in  harmony  with  an  unfaltering  allegiance  to  the  National 
Union,  the  maintenance  of  the  constitution  and  the  enforcement 
of  the  laws.  They  have  faithfully  adhered  to  the  provisions  of 
our  great  National  Compact,  and  willingly  recognize  the  peculiar 
institutions  and  rights  of  property  of  the  people  of  other  States. 
Every  true  Pennsylvanian  admits  that  his  first  civil  and  political 
duty  is  to  the  General  Government,  and  he  frankly  acknowledges 
his  obligation  to  protect  the  constitutional  rights  of  all  who  live 
under  its  authority  and  enjoy  its  blessings. 

"Pennsylvania  has  never  faltered  in  recognition  of  all  the 
duties  imposed  upon  her  by  the  National  Compact,  and  she  will, 
by  every  art  consistent  with  her  devotion  to  the  interests  of  her 
own  people,  promote  fraternity  and  peace  and   a  liberal  comity 

71 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

between  the  States.  Her  convictions  on  the  vital  questions 
which  have  agitated  the  pubHc  mind  are  well  understood  at  home, 
and  should  not  be  misunderstood  abroad.  Her  verdicts  have  been 
as  uniform  as  they  have  been  decisive,  in  favor  of  the  dignity,  the 
prosperity  and  the  progress  of  her  free  industry,  and  support  of  the 
principles  of  liberty  on  which  the  government  is  founded,  and 
menace  or  rebellion  cannot  reverse  them.  They  have  passed 
into  history  as  the  deliberate  judgment  of  her  people,  expressed 
in  a  peaceful,  fraternal  and  constitutional  manner;  and  when 
they  shall  have  been  administered  in  the  government,  as  soon  they 
will  be,  the  madness  that  now  rules  the  hour  will  subside,  as  their 
patriotic,  faithful  and  national  aims  bring  ample  protection  and 
peaceful  progress  to  all  sections  of  the  Republic. 

"In  the  grave  questions  which  now  agitate  the  country,  no 
State  has  a  more  profound  concern  than  Pennsylvania.  Occupy- 
ing a  geographical  position  between  the  North  and  the  South,  the 
East  and  the  West,  with  the  great  avenues  of  travel  and  trade 
passing  through  her  borders,  carrying  on  an  extensive  commerce 
with  her  neighbors,  in  the  vast  and  varied  productions  of  her  soil, 
her  mines  and  her  manufacturing  industry,  and  bound  to  them  by 
ties  of  kindred  and  social  intercourse,  the  question  of  disunion 
involves  momentous  consequences  to  her  people.  The  second  of 
the  thirty-three  States  in  population,  and  the  first  in  material 
resources,  it  is  due  both  to  ourselves  and  to  the  other  States,  that 
the  position  and  sentiments  of  Pennsylvania  on  the  question 
should  be  distinctly  understood. 

"In  the  present  unhappy  condition  of  the  country,  it  will  be 
our  duty  to  unite  with  the  people  of  the  States  which  remain  loyal 
to  the  Union,  in  any  just  and  honorable  measures  of  conciliation 
and  fraternal  kindness.  Let  us  invite  them  to  join  us  in  the  ful- 
fillment of  all  our  obligations  under  the  Federal  Constitution  and 
laws.  Then  we  can  cordially  unite  with  them  in  claiming  like 
obedience  from  those  States  which  have  renounced  their  allegi- 
ance.     If  tlie  loyal   States  are  just  and  moderate,  without  any 

72 


CURTIN'S   ADMINISTRATION 

sacrifice  of  right  or  self-respect,  the  threatened  danger  may  be 
averted." 

In  all  that  he  said  in  relation  to  the  controversy  between  the 
North  and  the  Sonth  previous  to  the  actual  outbreak  of  the  war, 
Governor  Curtin  voiced  the  sentiment  of  the  people  of  the  whole 
State,  and  in  all  that  he  did  in  anticipation  of  the  inevitable  event 
he  was  warmly  supported  by  the  people  of  all  classes  and  also  by 
the  legislative  branches  of  State  government.  Indeed,  from  the 
time  of  his  inauguration  until  the  beginning  of  hostilities,  and 
from  that  time  to  the  close  of  the  war,  the  executive  and  legisla- 
tive departments  acted  in  harmony,  the  former  looking  to  the 
latter  for  the  enactment  of  such  measures  as  were  deemed  neces- 
sary for  the  maintenance  of  the  high  standard  of  loyaltv  early 
proclaimed  by  Pennsylvania,  and  the  latter  looking  to  the  former 
for  suggestion  and  advice,  for  he  knew  better  than  they  the  needs 
and  requirements  of  the  State  in  this  hour  of  great  peril.  This 
was  especially  true  from  tlie  time  when  Mr.  Camercjn  resigned 
(March  ii,  1861)  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  and  ac- 
cepted the  position  of  secretary  of  war  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  cabinet. 
Although  the  former  relations  of  the  President  and  our  Governor 
were  entirely  cordial,  and  their  ideas  and  action  in  regard  to  the 
grave  questions  then  before  the  country  were  in  perfect  accord, 
Mr.  Cameron's  appointment  to  the  portfolio  of  war  had  the  effect 
to  draw  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Governor  Curtin  into  still  closer  rela- 
tionship, and  thus  to  give  the  latter  every  opportunity  to  know 
the  actual  needs  of  the  government  and  what  would  be  required 
of  his  own  State  on  each  occasion.  This  the  legislature  knew, 
and  wnthout  question  or  cavil  the  Governor's  suggestions  were 
accepted  as  expressing  the  actual  situation  of  national  affairs,  and 
they  were  acted  upon  promptly,  generously,  and  with  every  con- 
fidence that  the  best  interests  of  the  State  would  thereby  be 
promoted. 

Governor  Curtin  has  ever  been  known  in  history  as  the  "War 
Governor"  of  Pennsylvania,  yet  he  was  not  inclined  to  favor  war 

72> 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

with  the  South  until  every  means  for  an  amicable  settlement  of 
difficulties  had  been  exhausted.  He  took  kindly  to  the  proposition 
emanating  from  Virginia  for  the  appointment  of  commissioners 
from  the  several  States  to  meet  in  Washington  and  make  an 
earnest  effort  to  agree  upon  a  plan  of  settlement  of  the  "present 
unhappy  controversies,  in  the  spirit  in  which  the  constitution  was 
originally  formed  and  consistently  with  its  principles,  so  as  to 
afford  to  the  people  of  the  slaveholding  States  adeijuate  guarantees 
for  the  sovereignty  of  their  rights.  In  accordance  with  the  spirit 
of  the  undertaking  and  in  conformity  of  a  resolution  of  the  legis- 


Arms,  1790 

lature  of  Virginia  (Jan.  19,  1861),  the  Governor  appointed  as  the 
representatives  of  that  State  ex-President  John  Tyler,  William  C. 
Rives,  Judge  John  B.  Brockenborough,  George  W.  Summers  and 
James  A.  Seddon.  At  the  same  time  the  Governor  appointed 
ex-President  Tyler  to  the  special  service  of  commissioner  to 
President  Lincoln,  and  also  appointed  Judge  John  R.  Robertson 
commissioner  to  the  State  of  South  Carolina  and  the  other  States 
which  then  had  seceded,  to  act  with  others  "in  an  endeavor  to 
amicably  settle  the  difficulties  which  impelled  their  action." 

However,  in  its  action  the  legislature  of  our  State  did  not  await 
entirely  the  initiative  of  the  Governor,  but  adopted  several  meas- 
ures of  its  own  accord,  which  had  the  effect  to  win  the  confidence 
of  the  people  of  the  State  at  large,  whose  especial  representatives 
the  members  were  known  to  be.  As  early  as  Jan.  24,  1861,  having 
in  mind  the  fact  that  on  Dec.  20,  i860,  the  State  of  South  Caro- 
lina adopted  an  ordinance  to  dissolve  the  union  between  that  and 

74 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

the  other  States  which  previously  had  been  united  under  the  com- 
pact entitled  "The  United  States  of  America,"  the  Assembly 
passed  a  series  of  resolutions  expressive  of  the  sentiment  of  the 
people  of  this  Commonwealth  in  relation  to  the  questions  of  the 
hour.  These  resolutions  were  important,  and  were  so  pertinent 
to  the  subject  under  discussion  that  some  of  them  will  be  found  of 
interest  in  this  chapter. 

"Resolved,  That  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  entertain  and 
desire  to  cherish  the  most  fraternal  sentiments  for  their  brethren 
of  other  States,  and  are  ready  now,  as  they  ever  have  been,  to  co- 
operate in  all  measures  needful  for  their  welfare,  security  and 
happiness,  and  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  their  rights  under  the 
constitution  which  makes  us  one  people;  that  while  they  cannot 
surrender  their  love  of  liberty,  inherited  from  the  founders  of 
their  State,  sealed  with  the  blood  of  the  Revolution,  and  witnessed 
in  the  history  of  their  legislation,  and  while  they  claim  the  observ- 
ance of  all  their  rights  under  the  constitution,  they  nevertheless 
maintain  now,  as  they  have  ever  done,  the  constitutional  rights  of 
the  people  of  the  slaveholding  States  to  the  uninterrupted  enjoy- 
ment of  their  own  domestic  institutions. 

"Resolved,  That  we  adopt  the  sentiments  and  language  of 
President  Andrew  Jackson,  expressed  in  his  message  to  Congress 
(Jan.  1 6,  1833)  that  the  right  of  a  people  of  a  single  State  to 
absolve  themselves  at  will,  and  without  the  consent  of  the  other 
States,  from  their  most  solemn  obligations,  and  hazard  the  liberties 
and  happiness  of  millions  comprising  this  Union,  cannot  be  ac- 
knowledged, and  that  such  authority  is  utterly  repugnant  both  to 
the  principles  upon  which  the  general  government  is  constituted 
and  the  objects  which  it  was  expressly  formed  to  attain. 

"Resolved,  That  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  of 
America  contains  all  the  powers  necessary  to  the  maintenance  of 
its  authority,  and  it  is  the  solemiu  and  most  imperative  duty  of  the 
government  to  adopt  and  carry  into  efifect  wdiatever  measures  may 
be  necessary  to  that  end ;  and  the  faith  and  the  pozver  of  Fenn- 

77 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

sylvania  are  Jicrcby  pledged  to  the  support  of  such  measures,  in 
any  manner  and  to  any  extent  that  may  be  required  of  her  by  the 
constituted  authorities  of  the  United  States." 

Of  a  truth  there  was  no  uncertain  ring  of  loyalty  and  patriot- 
ism in  these  resolutions  at  the  time  of  their  adoption,  and  when 


John  Franklin 

Agent  of  the  Connecticut  Susquehanna  com- 
pany; captured  by  Colonel  Timothy  Pickering, 
1787,  and  imprisoned  in  Philadelphia  fourteen 
months  without  trial;  was  present  at  Wyoming 
just  after  the  massacre,  and  with  Sullivan  at 
the  battle  at  Newtown;  born  1749;  died  183 1. 
Reproduced  for  this  work  from  an  engraving  in 
possession  of  N.  F.  Walker 

in  the  course  of  a  few  more  months  those  qualities  of  loyalty  and 
patriotism  were  put  to  the  test,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  faith- 
fully fulfilled  every  promise  and  redeemed  every  pledge  with  an 
ardor  unsurpassed  by  that  of  any  other  State  in  the  Union.  But, 
notwithstanding  the  frequent  reiteration  of  sentiments  like  those 
expressed  in  the  resolutions,  and  regardless  of  the  fact  that  war 
between  the  North  and  the  South  even  then  was  considered  un- 


78 


CURTIN'S   ADMINISTRATION 

avoidable,  there  was  no  real  preparation  for  such  an  event  until 
just  before  the  actual  outbreak,  for  it  was  hoped  that  some  means 
of  settlement  might  be  discovered  without  recourse  to  arms.  Let 
us  glance  briefly  at  the  political  situation  in  the  country  at  the  time 
of  which  we  write. 

For  many  years  previous  to  i860  strong  antagonism  between 
two  sentiments  had  existed  in  the  country;  the  South  was  the 
avowed  enemy  of  the  free  paid  labor  of  the  North,  and  the  North 
of  the  slave  labor  of  the  South.  Advocates  of  both  principles 
were  earnest  and  determined  and  their  respective  views  were  en- 
larged and  extended  until  the  remotest  corners  of  our  territorial 
limits  became  impregnated  with  the  prevailing  ideas.  The  na- 
tional political  contest  of  i860  was  both  fevered  and  exciting,  for 
never  before  had  so  much  depended  upon  the  result  of  the  ballot. 
There  were  numerous  murmurings  of  a  significant  character  that 
carried  alarm  to  the  nation  which  had  devoted  all  her  energies  to 
the  fruitful  arts  of  peace.  Then  followed  an  assault  on  the  integ- 
rity of  the  ballot  and  the  expressed  will  of  the  majority,  which, 
if  successful,  must  of  necessity  have  destroyed  our  republican 
form  of  government.  Soon  the  voice  of  reason  was  lost  in  the 
thunder  of  Moultrie's  guns,  and  then  the  question  was :  Shall 
liberty  and  union  no  longer  walk  hand  in  hand,  and  if  either  is 
to  g'O  out,  which  shall  it  be  ? 

Then  how  sudden  the  transformation  of  the  peaceful  citizen 
into  the  armed  and  uniformed  soldier!  Almost  every  citizen  real- 
ized that  it  was  his  duty  to  be  loyal  in  his  service  to  the  country, 
and  volunteers  were  furnished  from  every  State,  county  and  town 
in  the  great  North.  Loyal  men  only  knew  that  they  were  needed, 
and  they  hastened  to  respond  to  the  call ;  they  exchanged  the  rip- 
pling music  of  the  hillside  stream  for  the  thunder  of  the  deep- 
mouthed  cannon  and  the  deafening  musketry  volley.  "It  was  not 
with  them  a  question  of  what  battles  were  to  be  fought,  what 
graves  filled,  what  altars  shivered ;  the  spirit  of  secession  must  be 
buried  and  breathe  its  last  amid  shrieking  shell  and  hissing  bullet." 

79 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

Our  own  Pennsylvania  was  no  exception  to  the  rule,  and  freely 
gave  her  sons  whose  blood  crimsoned  the  soil  of  a  hundred  battle- 
fields of  the  South;  and  they  fell  as  heroes  fall,  a  sacrifice  to 
union,  liberty  and  freedom ;  and  the  mothers  who  gave  those  sons 
displayed  a  patriotism  equal  to  that  of  the  Spartan  mothers  in  the 
sacrifice  of  household  idols.  The  hardships  of  a  soldier's  life, 
suffering  from  wounds,  disease  and  privations,  and  the  surrender 
of  young  lives,  presents  a  chapter  of  patriotism  which  warms  the 
devotion  to  country  of  every  true  American ;  but  when  we  reflect 
on  all  the  scenes  at  home  and  those  upon  the  battlefield  we  can 
only  doubt  who  suffered  most  when  the  shadows  of  war  darkened 
our  fair  land. 

As  early  as  February,  1861,  it  became  evident  that  actual  war 
with  the  seceding  States  could  not  much  longer  be  averted,  as  the 
attitude  of  the  South  Carolina  authorities  toward  the  Federal  gar- 
rison at  Fort  Sumter  indicated  an  immediate  outbreak  of  hostili- 
ties. On  the  17th  of  that  month  the  Assembly  of  Pensylvania 
passed  resolutions  approving  the  course  of  Major  Anderson,  and 
in  Philadelphia  and  other  commercial  centers  public  meetings  were 
held  and  strong  sentiments  were  expresed  in  favor  of  upholding 
the  Union,  suppressing  treasonable  insurrection  and  urging  imme- 
diate preparations  for  war.  At  that  particular  time,  however,  the 
military  system  of  the  State  was  not  in  order  for  efficient  action, 
and  it  was  supposed  that  much  time  would  be  required  to  re-estab- 
lish it  on  a  proper  basis.  The  principal  defects  consisted  of  an  in- 
sufficient number  of  men  and  a  general  lack  of  equipment,  both  in 
arms  and  uniforms,  and  an  almost  entire  absence  of  discipline.  On 
April  9th  the  Governor  addressed  a  communication  to  the  Assem- 
bly, calling  attention  to  the  imperfect  system,  and  urged  immediate 
action  in  reorganizing  it,  a  modification  of  the  military  laws,  and 
the  establishment  of  a  military  bureau  at  the  capital  of  the  State. 
Three  days  later,  on  the  very  day  on  which  Fort  Sumter  was  fired 
upon,  the  Assembly  passed  an  act  for  better  organizing  the  militia 
and  appropriated  $500,000  for  that  purpose. 

80 


'•^r  ^   . 


¥' 


-^-^ 


'rt>h/iflu)/'i/  /i,/    'V/if  ,yi-H-iuyMvM.-r/  .  /.-    '    >•■■//     "•"    -./-'•!'•, 


5,  :^y:,M  /yv^'' 


CUR  TIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

While  at  the  time  inchcated  there  undoubtedly  was  a  lack  of 
organization  and  military  discipline  in  the  State,  there  was  no 
scarcity  of  material  from  which  to  create  a  formidable  army  for 
either  offensive  or  defensive  purposes,  as  the  report  of  the  adjutant- 
general  for  the  preceding  year  showed  355,000  men  subject  to 
military  duty,  although  of  the  entire  number  only  19,000  were 
members  of  organized  companies.  There  were  four  hundred  and 
seventy-six  of  these  companies,  with  an  average  membership  of 
about  forty  men  in  each.  All  the  arms  and  military  equipment 
then  owned  by  the  State  were  in  possession  of  the  companies,  and 
comprised  12,080  muskets,  4,706  rifles,  2,809  cavalry  swords  and 
sabres,  3,149  pistols,  69  pieces  of  ordnance,  and  about  575  camp 
tents.  Of  the  muskets,  about  2,500  were  of  new  model,  and  1,200 
of  the  rifles  were  of  modern  pattern,  but  the  remainder  of  the 
equipment,  except  the  ordnance,  was  of  comparatively  little  use. 
The  total  number  of  effective  small  arms  was  4,200;  thus  14,500 
members  of  the  organized  and  uniformed  militia  had  no  arms  fit 
for  use  when  they  entered  the  service  in  the  spring  of  1861. 

It  was  this  condition  in  the  military  establishment  of  the  State 
that  impelled  the  Governor's  action,  and  also  that  of  the  Assem- 
bly, to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  a  preceding  paragraph. 
The  Assembly  took  prompt  action,  but  before  anything  had  been 
really  accomplished  the  war  of  the  rebellion  was  begun. 

On  the  morning  of  April  12,  1861,  the  guns  of  Fort  Moultrie 
in  Charleston  harbor,  S.  C,  were  trained  on  Fort  Sumter,  the  lat- 
ter then  being  held  by  a  Federal  garrison  under  Major  Anderson ; 
and  -with  the  first  boom  of  Confederate  cannon  civil  war  was  pro- 
claimed throughout  the  United  States ;  the  great  sections  of  coun- 
try knowai  as  the  South  and  the  Xorth  were  arrayed  against  each 
other  in  a  conflict  which  was  destined  to  cost  billions  of  money, 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  human  lives,  and  to  engender  feelings  of 
animosity  w^hich  in  all  subsequent  years  have  not  been  entirely 
effaced,  although  to-day  the  old  contending  forces  are  nearer 
together  in  thought  and  action  and  sympathy  than  ever  before. 

.3-6  81 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

In  this  brief  chapter  it  is  needless  to  dwell  upon  the  prompt- 
ness, the  enthusiasm  and  the  patriotism  with  which  the  people  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  common  with  those  of  the  other  Northern  States, 
sprang  forward  at  the  call  of  the  President  for  men  to  suppress 
the  treasonable  rebellion  organized  by  the  hosts  of  misguided 
people  of  the  South.  The  subject,  although  never  to  be  worn 
threadbare,  has  nevertheless  been  the  frequent  theme  of  the  most 
gifted  pens  in  song  and  story,  and  the  banner  of  peace  floated  over 
the  entire  republic  at  the  end  of  the  sanguinary  and  heroic  strug- 
gle. The  record  achieved  by  the  brave  men  who  gave  up  the  com- 
forts and  safety  of  their  homes  for  the  dangers  and  hardships,  the 
w^ounds  and  death  of  the  battlefields,  is  one  that  ever  may  be  looked 
upon  with  pride  by  every  loyal  citizen  of  the  State ;  while  the  lib- 
erality displayed  by  those  w^hose  duty  was  to  remain  at  home 
helped  to  soften  the  rigors  of  war  and  gave  the  volunteers  the 
most  undoubted  assurances  that  their  sacrifices  were  appreciated 
to  the  fullest  possible  extent ;  and  as  the  tide  of  war  rolled  on  and 
call  succeeded  call  to  fill  the  depleted  ranks  of  the  army,  the  State 
did  not  hesitate  in  its  duty,  nor  the  counties  and  towns  in  their 
loyalty,  in  providing  for  the  payment  of  such  generous  bounties 
as  W'Ould  serve  the  very  best  purpose. 

Throughout  the  period  of  the  war  the  civil  and  military  history 
of  Pennsylvania  ran  in  the  same  channel,  and  were  almost  con- 
current events,  and  it  was  not  until  well  along  toward  the  close  of 
the  struggle  that  there  began  to  develop  a  sentiment  of  opposition 
to  the  administration  of  the  President,  of  the  war  department,  and, 
in  a  less  degree,  to  the  course  of  Governor  Curtin  and  his  advisers. 
Previous  to  this  time  there  w^as  little  division  of  political  sentiment 
in  the  State  and  Republicans  and  Democrats  alike  warmly  sup- 
ported all  the  measures  proposed  in  the  legislature  for  the  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war,  while  in  the  ranks  of  the  army  were  hun- 
dreds and  even  thousands  of  sturdy  volunteers  wdio  were  de- 
scended from  ancestors  "scrupulous  of  bearing  arms" ;  but  along 
afte'-"  tbe  enforcement  of  draft  orders  there  developed  a  spirit  of 

8^ 


CURTIN'S   ADMINISTRATION 

opposition,  which  manifested  itself  chiefly  at  the  polHng-  places, 
and  had  the  ultimate  effect  to  create  serious  disturbance  in  the  har- 
mony of  State  politics.  These  events,  however,  in  our  history 
will  be  treated  in  a  subsequent  portion  of  this  narrative. 

On  the  morning  of  April  12,  1861,  a  message  was  handed  to 
Governor  Curtin  in  Harrisburg  which  read  as  follows :  "The  war 
is  commenced.  The  batteries  began  firing  at  four  o'clock  this 
morning.  Major  Anderson  replied,  and  a  brisk  cannonading 
commenced.  This  is  reliable,  and  has  just  come  by  Associated 
Press,"  etc. 

On  this  day,  in  response  to  the  Governor's  suggestion,  the 
legislature  passed  an  act  for  reorganizing  the  military  department 
of  the  State,  and  in  conformity  to  its  elaborate  provisions,  on  the 
17th,  the  Governor  nominated  and  sent  to  the  Senate  for  con- 
firmation the  name  of  Major-General  Edward  M.  Shepard  to  be 
adjutant-general,  Captain  John  W.  McLane  to  be  commissary- 
general,  and  General  Reuben  C.  Hale  to  be  quartermaster-general 
each  on  the  grand  staff  of  the  military  department  of  the  State  as 
constituted  under  the  act. 

True  to  the  patriotic  principles  so  frequently  expressed  on  pre- 
vious occasions,  and  thoroughly  alive  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
situation  after  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi, 
Louisiana,  Florida  and  Texas  had  openly  seceded  and  had  arisen 
HI  armed  rebellion  against  the  sovereign  authority  and  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and  had  declared  to  dissolve  their  alle- 
giance to  the  Federal  Union,  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  on 
April  18,  unanimously  adopted  the  following  resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  the  faith,  credit  and  resources  of  the  State,  in 
1x)th  men  and  money,  are  hereby  pledged  to  any  amount  and  to 
every  extent  which  the  Federal  Government  may  demand,  to  sub- 
due the  rebellion,  to  punish  the  treason,  to  enforce  the  laws,  to 
protect  the  lives,  the  liberties  and  the  property  of  the  people,  and 
to  maintain  inviolate  the  constitution  and  the  sovereignty  of  the 
nation." 

~8^ 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

On  the  20th  the  Governor  issued  his  proclamation  convoking 
the  Assembly  in  special  session,  to  "take  action  in  connection  with 
the  appearance  of  rebellion."  On  the  30th  the  Assembly  was  con- 
vened and  received  an  important  message  from  the  Governor,  the 
latter  setting  forth  the  needs  of  the  government  and  the  duty  of 


Josiah  Harmar 

Negotiated  treaty  with  Indians  at  P]ort  Mcintosh 
(Beaver),  1785;  brevetted  brigadier-general  by 
Congress  1787;  general-in-chief  United  States 
Army,  1 789-1792.  Made  for  this  work  from  an 
engraving   in   possession   of   Dr.  W.   J.   Holland 

the  State,  and  called  upon  the  assembled  legislators  to  make  ample 
provision  for  men,  arms  and  military  equipments.  In  his  mes- 
sage on  this  occasion  the  Governor  gave  free  expression  to  his 
views  regarding  the  situation,  and  his  utterances  were  so  thor- 
oughly frank  and  patriotic  that  the  writer  is  impelled  to  make  use 
of  some  portions  of  them  : 


84 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

"No  one  who  knows  the  history  of  Pennsylvania  and  under- 
stands the  opinions  and  feehngs  of  her  people,  can  justly  charge 
us  with  hostility  to  our  brethren  of  other  States.  We  regard 
them  as  friends  and  fellow-countrymen,  in  whose  welfare  we  feel 
a  kindred  interest ;  and  we  recognize,  in  their  broadest  extent,  all 
our  constitutional  obligations  to  them.  These  we  are  ready  and 
willing  to  observe,  generously  and  fraternally  and  in  their  letter 

and  spirit  with  unswerving  fidelity The  time  is  past  for 

temporizing  or  forbearing  with  this  rebellion ;  the  most  causeless 
in  history.  The  North  has  not  invaded  nor  has  she  sought  to 
invade  a  single  guaranteed  right  of  the  South.  On  the  contrary, 
all  political  parties,  and  all  administrations,  have  fully  recognized 
the  binding  force  of  every  provision  of  the  great  compact  between 
the  States,  and  regardless  of  our  views  of  State  policy,  our  people 
have  respected  them.  To  predicate  a  rebellion,  therefore,  upon 
any  alleged  wrong  inflicted  or  sought  to  be  inflicted  upon  the 
South,  is  to  offer  falsehood  as  an  apology  for  treason.  So  will 
the  civilized  world  and  history  judge  this  mad  effort  to  overthrow 
the  most  beneficent  structure  of  human  government  ever  devised 
by  man." 

On  April  15th,  1861,  four  days  after  the  bombardment  of  Fort 
Sumter,  President  Lincoln  issued  a  call  for  75,000  militia  from 
the  several  Union  States  to  serve  for  three  months.  The  quota 
of  Pennsylvania  was  fourteen  regiments,  and  so  prompt  w^as  the 
response  to  the  call  and  such  was  the  patriotic  ardor  of  the  people 
in  every  portion  of  the  State  that  not  only  were  the  required 
regiments  raised,  but  the  number  was  increased  to  twenty-five. 
Indeed  the  services  of  about  thirty  additional  regiments  were 
refused  by  the  government,  as  the  great  number  of  volunteers  who 
came  forw^ard  had  then  provided  for  more  than  one-half  the  total 
number  of  troops  called  for  by  the  President.  Four  days  after 
the  call  Pennsylvania  had  placed  at  the  national  capital  six  hun- 
dred men,  and  to  the  lasting  honor  of  the  State,  it  may  be  said 
that  its  troops  were  the  first  to  arrive  in  Washington  to  defend 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

the  city  against  an  expected  attack  by  the  Confederate  forces. 
Ten  days  later  the  entire  number  of  twenty-five  regiments  of 
Pennsylvania  troops  were  organized  and  in  the  field.  On  April 
1 8,  Camp  Curtin  was  established  at  Harrisburg,  at  which  point 
all  the  militia  of  the  northern,  western  and  central  counties  of  the 
State  were  organized  and  equipped  for  active  service  at  the  front. 
At  the  same  time  the  eight  regiments  raised  in  Philadelphia 
and  its  vicinity  were  rendezvoused  and  organized  in  that  city. 
All  these  regiments  were  designated  in  numerical  order  from  i 
to  25,  and  comprised  in  the  aggregate  20,979  men.  They  served 
the  full  term  of  three  months,  and  then  were  mustered  out  of  ser- 
vice, although  many  of  the  men,  in  some  instances  almost  entire 
companies  in  a  body,  re-enlisted  for  the  regular  three  years'  ser- 
vice. 

While  it  is  not  within  the  province  of  this  chapter  to  refer  at 
length  to  the  service  of  individual  companies  or  regiments  sent  out 
from  Pennsylvania  during  the  war,  it  is  nevertheless  proper  to 
mention  the  fact  that  among  the  very  first  military  organiza- 
tions to  tender  their  services  to  the  government  were  the  Ringgold 
Light  Artillery  of  Reading;  the  Logan  Guards  of  Lewiston;  the 
Washington  Artillery  and  the  National  Light  Infantry  of  Potts- 
ville.  and  the  Allen  Rifles  of  Allentown.  Says  a  contemporary 
writer :  "When  the  Ringgold  Light  Artillery,  numbering  one 
hundred  and  two  men,  reached  Harrisburg,  and  word  was  sent  to 
the  secretary  of  war  of  the  presence  of  so  strong  a  company  at  the 
State  capital,  he  at  once  telegraphed  for  its  immediate  presence  in 
Washington,  but  for  prudential  reasons  the  order  was  sup- 
pressed." 

Having  been  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
the  five  volunteer  companies,  with  a  detachment  of  fifty  men  from 
the  regular  army,  left  Harrisburg,  the  former  destined  for  the 
defenses  of  Washington  and  the  latter  for  Fort  McHenry.  In 
marching  through  Batlimore,  from  Bolton  to  Camden  station, 
these  volunteer  companies  were  attacked  by  a  riotous  mob  of  con- 

86 


CURTIN'S   ADMINISTRATION 

federate  sympathizers,  and  were  subjected  to  all  manner  of  indig- 
nities, but  the  men  behaved  themselves  with  becoming  bravery  and 
raised  no  arm  to  resist  the  assaults  made  on  them.  In  fact,  even 
if  so  disposed,  the  troops  were  powerless  to  defend  themselves, 
for  they  were  without  ammunition  of  any  kind,  although  the  men 
were  provided  with  guns.  On  the  evening  of  the  i8th  the  com- 
panies arrived  in  Washington  and  camped  in  the  defenses  of  the 
city ;  and  they  were  the  first  troops  to  reach  the  capital,  a  fact  due 
to  the  prompt  action  of  Governor  Curtin,  and  the  zeal  with  which 
the  sturdy  Pennsylvanians  answered  the  call  to  arms. 

The  conduct  of  these  companies  while  passing  through  the 
streets  of  Baltimore  was  the  occasion  of  much  favorable  comment, 
and  their  determined  courage  in  the  face  of  many  embarrassments 
was  duly  recognized  by  Congress  in  the  adoption  of  the  following 
resolution : 

"37th  Congress,  U.  S.,  July  22,  1861. 
"Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  House  are  due,  and  are 
hereby  tendered,  to  the  five  hundred  and  thirty  soldiers  from 
Pennsylvania,  who  passed  through  the  mob  at  Baltimore  and 
reached  Washington  on  the  i8lh  of  April  last,  for  the  defence  of 
the  National  Capital.  Galusha  A.  Grow, 

"Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives." 

This  was  the  first  but  not  the  last  occasion  on  which  the 
National  Congress  found  opportunity  to  publicly  acknowledge  the 
services  of  volunteer  soldiers  from  Pennsylvania  during  the  period 
of  the  Civil  war. 

Following  the  departure  of  the  first  body  of  volunteers  Camp 
Curtin  was  the  scene  of  activity,  and  from  the  time  of  its  establish- 
ment (April  18,  1861),  to  the  close  of  military  operations  in  con- 
nection with  the  war  it  was  the  most  popular  rendezvous  and 
training  grounds  for  troops  in  the  entire  State.  Its  location  for 
its  intended  purpose  was  admirable,  as  it  occupied  the  land  between 
the  Pennsylvania  railroad  and  the  Susquehanna  river,  the  site 
formerly  occupied  by  the  Dauphin  County  Agricultural  Society. 

8^ 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

Previous  to  the  selection  of  the  camp  site  all  available  lands  in  the 
city  were  occupied  by  the  constantly  incoming  troops,  and  tempo- 
rary shelters  and  barracks  were  provided  for  their  accommodation. 
As  evidence  of  the  early  importance  of  Camp  Curtin  it  may  be 
said  that  between  the  i8th  of  April  and  the  end  of  that  month 
twenty-five  regiments  of  troops  were  formed  there  and  sent  to  the 
front  for  active  service. 


T^^^^^Sm 

p 

^^-..-^'^ 

Dial  Rock 

The  sun  dial  of  the  early  settlers  in  Wyoming 
Valley;  also  called  Campbell's  Ledge.  Engraved 
for  this  work  from  a  photograph  in  possession  of 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society 

The  second  call  for  volunteers  was  made  in  May,  the  quota 
for  Pennsylvania  being  ten  regiments,  but  the  services  of  these 
regiments  the  government  refused,  on  the  announcement  by  Sec- 
retary of  War  Cameron  that  as  the  State  had  twenty-five  regi- 
ments already  in  the  field  its  force  ought  not  to  be  increased  at 
that  time. 

At  an  extra  session  of  the  legislature  was  passed  the  act  of 
May   15,  for  organizing  the  "Reserve  Volunteer  Corps  of  the 


CURTIN'S   ADMINISTRATION 

Commonwealth,"  to  comprise  thirteen  regiments  of  infantry,  one 
of  cavalry  and  one  of  artillery.  This  corps  was  organized  under 
the  command  of  Major-General  George  A.  McCall,  and  was  placed 
for  military  instruction  in  camps  at  Easton,  West  Chester,  Pitts- 
burg and  Harrisburg.  On  June  22  two  of  its  regiments  were 
ordered  to  Cumberland,  Md.,  and  soon  afterward  rendered  excel- 
lent service  at  New  Creek  and  Piedmont  in  Western  Virginia 
until  ordered  to  the  lower  Potomac  regions.  On  the  22d  of 
July,  the  day  after  the  disaster  at  Bull  Run,  a  requisition  was 
made  on  the  State  for  its  Reserve  corps,  and  as  quickly  as  the 
means  of  transportation  could  be  provided,  eleven  thousand  of 
these  troops,  fully  armed  and  equipped,  were  sent  to  the  defences 
of  Washington,  and  a  few  days  later  the  regiments  were  mustered 
into  the  United  States  service  for  three  years,  or  the  war. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  history  of  the  familiarly  known 
Pennsylvania  Reserves,  an  organization  which,  during  the  later 
years  of  the  war,  won  fame  on  many  battlefields,  and  many  of 
whose  members  are  sleeping  beneath  the  sod  in  Southern  States. 
Its  record  certainly  was  one  of  unquestioned  merit  and  reflected 
honorably  on  the  entire  military  system  of  the  State.  The  aggre- 
gate number  of  officers  and  men  comprising  the  several  regiments 
of  the  Reserve  corps  in  1861  was  15,856. 

Previous  to  the  mustering  of  the  Reserve  corps  into  the  service 
of  the  United  States,  the  government  authorized  the  organization 
of  four  independent  regiments  in  the  State,  and  the  result  was  to 
promptly  raise  an  aggregate  of  4,711  officers  and  men.  Subse- 
quently, direct  requisitions  were  made  for  sixteen  additional 
regiments  of  infantry  and  two  regiments  of  cavalry,  all  of  which 
were  recruited  and  organized  with  equal  dispatch,  and  the  men 
were  sent  forward  to  such  points  as  were  designated  by  the  war 
department.  On  September  25  the  department  placed  under 
control  of  the  Governor  all  brigades,  regiments,  battalions  and 
companies  which  from  time  to  time  it  had  authorized  individuals 
to  raise.     These   amounted    to   ten  regiments,  including  five  of 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

cavalry,  one  of  artillery,  and    also    twenty-seven  companies,  in- 
cluding five  of  cavalry  and  three  of  artillery. 

From  what  is  stated  in  preceding  paragraphs  it  will  be  seen 
that  on  the  ist  of  January,  1862,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  had  in 
the  service  of  the  government  an  aggregate  of  130,594  men, 
inclusive  of  the  three  months'  regiments  and  also  inclusive  of 
fourteen  regiments  and  five  companies  which  at  that  time  were 
preparing  for  duty.  Recapitulating  briefly,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  regiments  in  actual  service  at  the  time  indicated  comprised 
sixty-five  of  infantry  and  riflemen,  a  total  of  71,189  men;  eleven 
of  cavalry,  12,690  men;  one  of  artillery,  1,077  men;  seven  com- 
panies of  infantry,  707  men ;  six  companies  of  cavalry,  578  men ; 
and  six  companies  of  artillery,  936  men.  The  grand  total  of 
these  commands  amounted  to  87,177  men,  to  which  must  be  added 
6,400  Pennsylvanians  who  enlisted  and  were  credited  with  serv- 
ing in  regiments  recruited  in  other  States,  chiefly  in  New  York, 
with  a  less  number  in  New  Jersey  and  Ohio. 

Notwithstanding  the  splendid  contribution  of  men  who  were 
in  active  service  at  the  close  of  the  year  1861,  at  that  time  fourteen 
regiments  (12  of  infantry,  i  of  cavalry  and  i  of  artillery)  and 
five  companies  (4  of  artillery  and  i  of  cavalry),  with  a  grand  total 
of  16,038  men,  were  in  the  several  camps  and  recruiting  stations 
awaiting  orders  and  organizing  for  service.  On  January  i, 
1862,  this  State  had  in  service  and  in  preparation  for  service 
(exclusive  of  those  whose  enlistments  had  previously  expired) 
a  total  of  109,615  men. 

Three  distinct  calls  for  troops  were  made  in  1861  :  First,  the 
President's  call  of  April  15,  to  which  Pennsylvania  responded 
with  20,979  three  months'  men ;  second,  the  call  of  July  22,  which 
was  answered  by  the  famous  Reserve  corps  and  a  total  of  15,856 
men ;  and  third,  the  general  organization  of  troops  under  the  act 
of  Congress  of  July  22,  which  called  out  a  total  of  93,759  men. 

In  1862  the  exigencies  of  the  war  made  a  serious  drain  on  the 
resources  of  the  State,  yet  during  that  year  less  troops  were  sent 

90 


C  UR  TIN'S   ADMIN  IS  T  RATION 

to  the  front  than  in  1861.  By  this  time,  although  the  heavier 
battles  were  yet  to  be  fought,  our  sturdy  Pennsylvanians  had 
become  accustomed  to  the  dire  events  of  war,  and  with  great  for- 
titude did  they  meet  every  demand  upon  their  resources  and 
material  strength ;  and  this  done  there  appeared  to  be  an  abun- 
dance of  excellent  material  yet  in  reserve. 

In  his  annual  message  to  the  Assembly  in  January  Governor 
Curtin  carefully  and  frankly  reviewed  the  situation  of  the  State 
with  regard  to  the  great  events  then  in  progress,  and  made  espe- 
cial reference  to  the  subject  of  finance,  for  during  the  preceding 
year  the  total  receipts  from  the  specially  authorized  military 
loans  had  amounted  to  $3,119,379.45,  and  of  this  vast  sum 
$2,728,872.04  had  been  expended  for  the  purposes  for  which  the 
fund  was  created.  The  Governor  also  referred  to  the  splendid 
action  of  the  Pennsylvanians  in  promptly  answering  the  call  to 
arms,  and  he  mentioned  in  detail  the  location  and  condition  of  the 
State  troops  then  in  service  of  the  government ;  and  he  also  made 
allusion  to  the  presentation  of  regimental  colors,  as  provided  for 
by  a  resolution  of  the  Assembly. 

The  year  1862  was  a  period  of  constant  activity  in  military 
affairs  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  camps  at  Harrisburg,  Pittsburg 
and  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,were  kept  alive  with  troops 
preparing  for  duty  at  the  front.  In  the  early  part  of  the  year  the 
regiments  recruited  but  not  sent  forward  in  1861  were  organized 
and  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  war  department,  but  other  than 
this  there  was  no  direct  call  for  more  men  until  July  7,  when 
forty-three  regiments,  aggregating  40,383  men,  were  organized 
and  put  into  service. 

The  Governor  himself  had  been  informed  of  the  necessity  of 
this  call  for  additional  troops,  and  on  the  4th  of  July  had  issued  a 
proclamation  in  which,  among  other  things,  he  said :  "Pennsyl- 
vania has  hitherto  done  her  duty  to  the  country.  Her  freeman 
are  again  called  on  to  volunteer  in  her  defence  that  the  blood  of 
her  sons  who  have  already  fallen  may  not  ha\e  been  shed  in  vain, 

91 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

and  that  we  may  hand  down  to  our  posterity  the  blessings  of 
union  and  civil  and  political  liberty,  which  we  derived  from  our 

fathers Our  noble  Commonwealth  has  never  yet  faltered 

and  must  stand  firm  now  when  her  honor  and  every  thing  that  is 
dear  to  her  is  at  stake." 

It  was  such  sentiments  as  these  expressed  by  Governor  Curtin 
and  thousands  of  other  patriots  throughout  the  State  that  kept 
alive  the  ardor  of  the  people  in  general  and  spurred  them  on  to 
still  greater  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  cause  of  union  and  liberty, 
and  when  the  President's  call  for  300,000  more  men  was  formally 
issued  this  State  was  among  the  very  first  to  furnish  its  quota  of 
more  than  forty  thousand  men.  In  a  way,  however,  Pennsyl- 
vania was  well  prepared  to  meet  the  call  of  July  7.  The  intelli- 
gence of  the  attack  of  May  25  upon  General  Banks  at  Winchester 
by  the  vastly  superior  force  of  Ewell's  and  Jackson's  divisions, 
had  created  an  intense  feeling  not  only  in  Pennsylvania  but 
throughout  all  the  loyal  States.  On  the  following  day,  under 
general  orders  issued  by  the  Governor,  for  the  muster  of  all  the 
militia  organizations  to  resist  an  expected  attack  upon  the  frontier 
of  the  State,  the  available  militia  were  hastily  organized  into 
regiments  and  battalions.  But  this  emergency  passed  without 
an  invasion,  whereupon  the  order  for  the  assembling  of  the  three 
months'  volunteer  militia  was  revoked.  However,  many  of  the 
companies  preserved  their  organization  and  were  among  the  first 
to  respond  to  the  call  of  July  7. 

About  this  time  a  new  scheme  for  securing  enlistments  was 
brought  into  existence,  and  had  its  beginning  in  the  neighboring- 
States,  especially  in  New  York,  where  counties,  towns  and  asso- 
ciations of  persons  created  funds  for  the  payment  of  bounties  to 
recruits  in  order  to  fill  their  quotas  under  the  drafts  ordered  in 
1862.  This  offer  of  bounties  in  adjoining  counties  in  other 
States  had  the  effect  to  attract  enlistments  from  Pennsylvania 
and  threatened  inroads  on  the  militia  of  our  State  to  such  an 
extent  that  an  extra  session  of  the  legislature  to  deal  willi  tlic 

92 


William  Jackson 


Aide-de-camp  to  Washington;  assistant  secre- 
tary of  war,  1782-1783:  secretary  of  the  con- 
vention which  framed  the  Federal  Constitution, 
1787:  private  secretary  to  Washington  during 
his  first  administration:  publisher  of  the  daily 
"Political  and  Commercial  Register,"  1S01-1815. 
Reproduced  especially  for  this  work  from  an 
original  panel  by  Trumbull,  in  the  Historical 
Society  of  Pennsylvania 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

subject  seemed  necessary;  but  this  necessity  was  soon  obviated 
by  the  action  of  our  own  counties  and  townships  in  creating 
bounty  funds,  and  the  legislature  was  not  cahed  upon  to  act  in  the 
matter. 

In  many  respects  the  bounty  system,  however  well  regulated 
in  certain  localities,  proved  iniquitous  through  the  schemes  of 
designing  persons,  and  as  a  result  the  ranks  of  the  volunteers 
became  filled  with  men  who  possessed  none  of  the  qualities  of 
loyal  soldiers,  and  whose  sole  purpose  was  to  secure  the  money 
offered  them  and  then  desert  and  re-enlist  for  another  bounty 
or  escape  across  the  borders  into  other  States  or  into  Canada. 
This  class  of  persons  was  known  as  "bounty  jumpers,"  and  while 
they  were  too  numerous  for  the  welfare  of  the  service,  they  by  no 
means  carried  disorder  into  the  ranks  of  the  army  in  general ; 
and  there  were  thousands  among  those  who  enlisted  under  the 
bounty  offer  who  proved  as  good  and  faithful  soldiers  as  ever 
carried  a  musket  or  responded  to  an  order  to  charge  the  enemy. 

Among  the  several  varied  events  which  took  place  within  this 
State  during  the  second  year  of  the  war,  that  known  as  Stuart's 
raid  on  Chambersburg,  in  Franklin  county,  on  October  lo,  was  by 
far  the  most  important ;  and  it  was  accomplished  so  stealthily 
and  cjuickly  that  no  arm  was  raised  in  defence  of  the  town.  The 
people  living  in  that  particular  locality  had  f()r  some  time  been 
apprehensive  of  an  attack,  for  there  was  much  in  the  geographical 
surroundings  to  tempt  an  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  territory  by 
way  of  the  Cumberland  valley,  where  nature  had  provided  easy 
and  safe  means  of  entrance  and  departure  from  the  south. 
Chambersburg  itself  was  an  attractive  place,  delightfully  situated 
in  a  fertile  region  of  country,  and  was  also  the  site  of  a  military 
storehouse  where  large  quantities  of  arms  and  munitions  of  war 
were  deposited.  This  fact  evidently  was  known  to  the  confed- 
erates, and  their  first  invasion  of  the  territory  of  our  State  un- 
doubtedly was  for  the  double  purpose  of  wanton  pillage  and  the 
capture  of  the  military  stores. 

95 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

In  the  early  part  of  September  the  confederate  forces  had 
made  incursions  into  Maryland  and  even  then  threatened  an  in- 
vasion of  the  southern  region  of  Pennsylvania.  To  prepare  for 
such  an  event  a  call  was  made  by  general  orders  upon  all  the  able- 


John  McMillan 

Educator;  started  a  Latin  school  and  the  theo- 
logical seminary  which  afterward  became  Can- 
onsburg  academy,  1791,  and  later  Jefferson 
college.  Photographed  for  this  work  from  an 
engraving  in  possession  of  Mrs.  William  M. 
Darlington 

bodied  men  of  the  counties  to  organize  for  the  defence  of  the 
State,  and  on  the  nth  of  that  month  fifty  thousand  freemen  were 
called  for  immediate  service.  Harrisburg  was  the  designated 
rendezvous  for  the  troops,  and  every  train  of  cars  brought 
thousands  of  volunteers  into  the  city,  and  to  provide  for  them  the 
capitol    grounds    were    transformed    into    an    immense    military 


96 


C  UR  TIN'S    ADM  IN  IS  TRA  TION 

camp.  Companies  were  rapidly  formed,  rei^imenls  were  as 
quickly  organized  and  sent  forward  into  the  Cumberland  valley, 
where,  under  Brigadier-General  John  F.  Reynolds,  Avho  had  been 
temporarily  detailed  from  the  command  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Reserves,  this  new  army  was  reorganized  for  the  defence  of  the 
State  against  the  threatened  invasion.  Fifteen  thousand  of  this 
force  of  volunteers  were  pushed  forward  to  Hagarstown  and 
Boonsboro,  Md.,  ten  thousand  others  w^ere  posted  in  the  vicinity 
of  Greencastle  and  Chambersburg,  and  about  twenty-five  thou- 
sand were  kept  at  Harrisburg  ready  for  transportation  to  any 
desired  point.  One  other  regiment  was  sent  to  guard  the  Dupont 
powder  mills  in  Delaware.  However,  on  September  24,  the 
necessity  for  further  service  having  passed,  the  volunteer  militia 
was  discliarged  by  order  of  the  Governor. 

In  October  Chambersburg  was  less  prepared  to  resist  an 
attack,  and  the  invading  force  of  rebels  under  Generals  Stuart  and 
Hampton  met  with  no  opposition  during  their  raid.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  of  October  10  these  daring  officers  with  a  body  of  about 
two  thousand  cavalry  and  artillery  entered  the  town,  having 
crossed  the  Potomac,  and  by  hurried  marches  made  their  way  into 
the  State  without  the  least  warning  of  their  approach.  The  night 
was  spent  in  plundering  and  destroying  the  houses  and  property 
of  the  residents,  and  on  the  following  morning  the  military  store- 
house was  made  the  object  of  especial  attack.  The  building  was 
stripped  of  its  contents,  large  quantities  of  arms  and  ammunition 
were  carried  away,  and  whatever  remained  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
together  wdth  the  storehouse  itself.  Then  the  invaders  departed 
as  quickly  as  they  had  come,  passing  out  by  \vay  of  South  Moun- 
tain and  the  Potomac  river. 

To  repel  this  invasion,  although  the  action  was  too  late  to  be 
effective,  the  Governor  called  into  service  the  Anderson  cavalry, 
then  encamped  at  Carlisle,  and  two  companies  of  regulars  who 
were  in  the  barracks  at  the  same  place.  These  were  at  once  pushed 
forward  in  the  direction  of  Chambersburg  and  South  Mountain. 

2-7  97 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

I'he  cavalry  at  Camp  Ciirtin,  consisting  of  one  full  and  two  im- 
perfect regiments,  were  armed  as  infantry,  and  with  two  com- 
panies of  infantry,  and  a  battery  of  volunteer  light  artillery  of 
Harrisburg,  were  held  in  readiness  to  go  forward,  when  General 
Wool  arrived  and  assumed  command  of  all  the  forces.  He  had 
previously  ordered  a  part  of  his  command  from  Baltimore  and 
marched  the  troops  to  Gettysburg.  But  the  confederate  forces 
marched  with  such  celerity  that  they  were  not  met  by  any  of  Gen- 
eral Wool's  troops  and  thus  escaped  from  the  State  without  being 
attacked. 

Within  the  borders  of  the  State  and  in  the  field  of  active  opera- 
tions in  the  South  the  year  1862  witnessed  many  important  and 
several  serious  events  so  far  as  concerned  the  Pennsylvania  sol- 
diery. During  the  year  the  requisitions  for  troops  drew  upon  the 
militia  resources  of  the  State  to  the  extent  of  69,742  men  in  addi- 
tion to  those  credited  to  the  preceding  year,  and  at  the  close  of 
1862  it  was  found  that  a  total  of  200,336  men  had  been  sent  out 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war;  and  if  to  the  above  there  is  added 
the  twenty-five  regiments  of  infantry,  eleven  companies  of  cav- 
alry and  four  batteries  of  artillery  that  marched  on  special  service 
into  the  Cumberland  valley,  the  aggregate  contribution  of  the 
State  thus  far  would  amount  to  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million 
of  men.  Yet  the  resources  of  the  State  were  not  exhausted,  and 
there  still  remained  for  future  emergencies  more  men,  money  and 
undoubted  loyalty  for  the  further  support  of  the  government  and 
the  defence  of  the  Union. 

A  careful  analysis  of  the  reports  of  the  adjutant-general  for 
the  year  1862  shows  Pennsylvania's  contribution  of  men  for  the 
service  to  have  been  as  follows  :  Organized  under  the  President's 
call  of  July  7,  for  300,000  men,  regiments  116  to  157  inclusive, 
and  including  five  regiments  of  cavalry  (159  to  163  inclusive) 
and  three  batallions  of  artillery,  on  special  requisitions,  40,383 ; 
organized  under  draft  ordered  by  the  President,  August  4,  for 
300,000  militia  to  serve  for  nine  months  (regiments  158,  165  to 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

169  inclusive,  and  171  to  179  inclusive),  14,800;  drafted  men  in 
camps  sent  forward,  300;  recruits  furnished  to  regiments  in  ser- 
vice by  Captains  Dodge  and  Lane,  and  Lieut.-Col.  Ruff,  superin- 
tending the  volunteer  recruiting  service  at  Harrisburg  and 
Philadelphia,  9,259;  enlisted  in  organizations  of  other  States, 
5,000;  total,  69,742. 

Thus  from  the  middle  of  April,  186 1,  to  the  close  of  the  year 
1862,  a  period  of  a  little  more  than  twenty  months,  there  were 
recruited  and  organized  in  Pennsylvania  for  the  service  of  the 
government  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  eleven  regiments  for  three 
years,  including  eleven  regiments  of  cavalry  and  three  regiments 
of  artillery;  twenty-five  regiments  for  three  months;  seventeen 
volunteer  regiments  for  nine  months ;  fifteen  regiments  of  drafted 
militia,  and  twenty-five  regiments  of  militia  called  out  for  emer- 
gency purposes ;  in  all  a  grand  total  of  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
three  regiments,  embracing  in  the  ranks  of  the  federal  armies 
more  than  two  hundred  thousand  men. 

Notwithstanding  the  heavy  drains  upon  the  State  during  the 
previous  years  of  the  war,  a  careful  estimate  of  the  strength  of  the 
military  and  financial  departments  at  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1863  found  Pennsylvania  well  prepared  to  meet  the  further 
demands  of  the  government.  At  that  particular  time  the  general 
aspect  of  affairs  of  the  war  was  not  encouraging,  and  the  enemy 
was  gradually  pushing  forward  toward  the  southern  border  of  our 
State.  Yet  there  was  no  faltering  step  on  the  part  of  either 
Federal  or  State  government,  and  on  every  hand  there  was  mani- 
fested a  spirit  of  determination  to  accomplish  that  which  was 
begun.  In  his  annual  message  to  the  Assembly  in  January,  1863, 
Governor  Curtin  said :  "Notwithstanding  the  pressure  of  public 
calamity  which  has  weighed  heavily  on  the  country  during  the 
past  year,  it  has  pleased  Divine  Providence  not  only  to  enable  the 
people  of  Pennsylvania  to  perform  in  full  all  their  duties  to  our 
common  government,  but  to  give  to  this  Commonwealth  domestic 
peace,  plenty  and  prosperity." 

99 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 


Such,  indeed,  was  the  case  at  the  time  of  which  we  write. 
Disaster  had  followed  disaster  to  the  Union  arms,  and  while  there 
had  been  substantial  achievements  in  favor  of  the  North,  the  gen- 
eral results  had  not  been  satisfactory,  although  not  at  any  time 
was  there  harbored  the  thought  that  the  cause  of  the  South  would 
prevail.     Within  the  State  there  were  heard  only  expressions  of 


John  McAIillan's  Log  Building 

Fulton  Farm,  Washington  County,  where  he 
started  his  theological  seminary  and  Latin 
school.  The  old  cabin  is  now  on  the  campus  of 
Washington  and  Jefferson  college.  Engraved 
for  this  work  from  a  negative  by  Anna  Buckbee 

confidence  as  to  the  ultimate  result  of  the  struggle,  and  loyal  hearts 
and  hands  stood  ever  ready  to  contribute  still  more  ami  more 
means  in  support  of  the  government.  Not  at  any  time  during 
tliese  years  had  the  State  been  financially  distressed,  or  even  tem- 
porarily at  loss  to  command  all  the  money  necessary  to  carry 
forward  the  great  work  its  government  had  undertaken.  In  proof 
of  this  it  may  be  said  that  on  December  ist,  1861,  the  public  del^t 
of  the  State  amounted  to  $40,580,666.08,  and  on  December  1st, 


CURTIN'S   ADMINISTRATION 

1862,  amounted  to  $40,448,213.82,  thus  showing-  strength  to  with- 
stand any  further  demands,  and  that  despite  the  fact  that  within 
the  next  few  months  the  theatre  of  war  was  destined  to  ]ie  tempo- 
rarily transferred  to  Pennsylvania  territory. 

In  the  message  previously  referred  to  the  Governor  mentioned 
in  particular  the  offer  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  to  the  government 
to  give  League  Island  for  a  navy  yard,  to  be  used  for  the  purposes 
of  construction  of  iron-clad  vessels  and  the  establishment  of  a 
naval  station  under  national  control.  At  the  time  the  matter  was 
under  consideration  in  Congress  a  majority  of  the  House  com- 
mittee was  disposed  to  decline  the  offer  and  to  favor  a  site  at  New 
London,  Conn.,  but  the  minority  of  the  committee  strongly  urged 
the  acceptance  of  the  oflfer,  and  in  their  advocacy  of  it  they  were 
supported  by  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  whose  counsels  finally  pre- 
vailed and  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  present  League 
Island  naval  station,  one  of  the  most  valuable  properties  of  its  kind 
on  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 

From  the  time  of  the  confederate  descent  upon  Chambersburg 
in  the  fall  of  1862  the  military  authorities  in  Washington  and  also 
in  Pennsylvania  were  apprehensive  of  a  general  invasion  of  the 
State,  as  every  action  on  the  part  of  General  Lee  seemed  to  indicate 
a  northward  movement  by  his  army,  yet  the  winter  of  1862-3 
passed  without  serious  event.  However,  early  in  May,  1863,  it 
became  evident  that  Lee  really  intended  to  invade  the  State,  and 
communications  were  immediately  sent  to  the  war  department 
urging  preparations  tor  effective  defence  without  delay.  The 
urgency  of  the  appeal  and  the  evident  knowdedge  of  Lee's  inten- 
tions on  the  part  of  the  war  department  prompted  the  latter,  as  an 
initial  step  toward  a  proper  defence  of  the  State,  to  establish  two 
new  military  departments,  known,  respectively,  as  the  department 
of  the  Monongahela,  including  the  territory  west  of  Johnstown 
and  the  Laurel  Hill  range  of  mountains,  together  with  certain 
counties  in  Virginia  and  Ohio;  and  the  department  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna, including  that  part  of  the  State  east  of  Johnstown  and 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

the  Laurel  Hill  range  just  mentioned.  The  former  of  these 
departments  was  placed  under  command  of  Major-General  Wil- 
liam T.  H.  Brooks,  with  headquarters  at  Pittsburg,  and  the  latter 
under  Major-General  D.  N.  Couch,  with  headquarters  at  Cham- 
bersburg,  although  much  of  the  work  of  organization  was  accom- 
plished at  Harrisburg.  Both  departments  were  established  under 
general  orders  issued  June  9,  1863. 

The  invasion  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  by  General  Lee 
in  June,  1863,  which  resulted  so  disastrously  to  the  confederacy 
and  turned  the  general  tide  of  victory  in  favor  of  the  Union  arms, 
contemplated  in  the  plans  of  the  leaders  the  capture  of  Harrisburg, 
the  destruction  of  bridges  across  the  Susquehanna  river,  and  the 
transfer  of  the  seat  of  war  to  this  State.  Therefore,  the  effective 
defence  of  Pennsylvania  was  also  the  defence  of  the  neighboring 
States  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey. 

On  June  15  Lee's  army  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Williamsport, 
Md.,  and  entered  Pennsylvania  territory,  and  on  June  26  Governor 
Curtin  issued  a  proclamation  calling  for  sixty  thousand  men  to 
repel  the  invaders  and  drive  them  from  the  State.  In  the  procla- 
mation the  Governor  said :  "The  enemy  is  advancing  in  force  into 
Pennsylvania.  He  has  a  strong  column  within  twenty-three  miles 
of  Harrisburg  and  other  columns  are  moving  by  Fulton  and 
Adams  counties,  and  it  can  no  longer  be  doubted  that  a  formidable 
invasion  of  our  State  is  in  actual  progress."  Li  closing  his  appeal 
for  volunteers  the  governor  says:  "People  of  Pennsylvania!  I 
owe  to  you  all  my  faculties,  my  labor,  my  life.  You  owe  to  your 
country  your  prompt  and  zealous  services  and  efforts.  The  time 
has  now  come  when  we  must  all  stand  or  fall  together  in  defence 
of  our  State  and  in  support  of  our  government.  Let  us  so  dis- 
charge our  duty  that  posterity  shall  not  blush  for  us.  Come 
heartily  and  cheerfully  to  the  rescue  of  our  noble  Commonwealth. 
Maintain  now  your  honor  and  freedom." 

In  connection  with  the  establishment  of  the  two  new  military 
departments  an  emergency  call  was  made  for  the  services  of  all  the 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

militia  strength  of  the  State,  and  in  response  thereto  there  was  a 
general  and  prompt  compliance  on  the  part  of  the  freemen.  They 
were  enlisted  for  a  period  of  three  months,  but  when  their  services 
were  tendered  to  the  government  the  war  department  declined  to 
accept  enlistments  for  less  than  six  months,  for  the  purpose  was 
not  only  to  resist  the  invasion  of  Pennsylvania,  but  also  to  estab- 
lish a  guard  line  along  the  Potomac.  This  unhappy  occurrence 
was  the  occasion  of  some  delay  and  gave  rise  to  the  rumor  in  cer- 
tain circles  that  our  State  was  inclined  to  falter  in  its  support  of 
the  government  and  the  defence  of  its  own  people  and  property. 
This  was  an  evident  error,  however,  for  no  State  in  the  Union  was 
more  loyal  than  Pennsylvania.  But  the  situation  was  for  a  time 
embarrassing,  as  the  enemy  had  actually  entered  the  State  and  the 
approach  of  Lee's  whole  army  was  imminent.  The  President  had 
made  a  requisition  for  calling  out  the  militia  of  this  and  the  neigh- 
boring States,  and  several  regiments  of  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  troops  were  promptly  sent,  while  our  own  forces  were  only 
beginning  to  assemble.  An  objection  had  been  raised  to  service 
for  six  months,  a  part  of  the  time  outside  the  limits  of  the  State, 
but  notwithstanding  that  more  than  twelve  thousand  militia  were 
mustered  in  for  that  period  under  the  first  call  of  the  President, 
and  when  Mr.  Lincoln  assented  to  a  call  by  Governor  Curtin  for 
men  for  ninety  days'  service  in  defence  of  the  State,  more  than 
twenty-five  thousand  volunteers  promptly  entered  the  ranks. 

Under  these  calls  five  thousand,  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  men 
of  Pennsylvania  assembled  in  the  department  of  the  Monongahela 
and  thirty-one  thousand,  four  hundred  and  twenty-two  in  the 
department  of  the  Susquehanna.  The  force  thus  constituted  was 
organized  by  General  Couch,  under  whom  also  extensive  fortifica- 
tions were  constructed  opposite  Harrisburg;  and  the  assembling 
there  of  troops  and  the  erection  of  the  defenses  had  the  effect  to 
retard  the  advance  of  the  enemy  and  enable  the  army  of  the  Poto- 
mac to  arrive  in  time  to  avert  a  dreadful  calamity ;  and  when  at 
last  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  fought  Pennsylvania  outnum- 

103 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

bered  any  other  State  in  the  aggregate  of  troops  furnished,  and 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  had  the  honor  to  furnish  a  large  contin- 
gent of  the  men  from  the  State.  Under  the  President's  call, 
previously  mentioned,  New  York  sent  six  thousand,  three  hundred 
and  eighty-five  men,  and  New  Jersey  sent  five  hundred  and  two 


William  Bradford 

Born  175s;  in  1780,  attorney-general  of  Penn- 
sylvania; in  1794,  attorney-general  of  United 
States;  died  1795 

men.  Referring  more  particularly  to  the  character  of  the  forces 
and  numljer  of  men  furnished  under  the  emergency  calls  of  1863, 
and  to  remove  all  question  as  to  the  loyalty  of  the  Pennsylvania 
militia  during  that  period,  it  may  be  said  that  in  the  department  of 
the  Monongahela  there  were  raised  regiments  54  to  58,  one  un- 
attached com])an}'  of  artillery  and  one  of  ca\'alry,  for  ninety  days' 


104 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

service,  a  total  of  three  thousand,  seven  hunch-ed  and  fifty  men; 
and  in  the  same  department  for  six  months'  service,  there  were 
raised  one  l)attaHon  and  one  company  of  infantry,  one  battahon  of 
cavah-y  and  one  company  of  artillery,  a  total  of  one  thousand,  four 
hundred  and  sixteen  men.  At  the  same  time  there  were  formed 
in  the  department  of  the  Susquehanna  for  three  months'  service 
twenty-three  regiments,  one  independent  battalion,  and  five  unat- 
tached companies  of  infantry,  one  battalion  and  two  unattached 
companies  of  cavalry,  and  four  independent  batteries  of  artillery, 
in  all  a  total  strength  of  21,292  men;  and  in  the  same  department 
tor  six  months'  service  there  were  raised  three  regiments  of  cav- 
a\v\\  two  jjattalions  of  infantry  and  three  independent  batteries  of 
artillery,  in  all  a  strength  of  3,068  officers  and  men. 

From  the  time  when  General  Lee  turned  his  forces  to  the 
northward  until  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania  was 
in  a  state  of  commotion,  and  all  personal  concerns  were  for  the 
time  put  aside  in  the  general  desire  to  protect  the  Commonwealth 
and  the  people  against  the  designs  of  the  invaders.  It  was  known 
that  the  enemy  was  approaching,  but  at  what  point  he  might  first 
strike  was  wholly  in  doubt,  except  that  Harrisburg,  the  capital, 
naturally  would  be  laid  under  siege;  but  the  activity  of  General 
Couch  and  his  hastily  organized  army  of  militiamen  in  construct- 
ing defenses  and  opposing  the  progress  of  the  confederates  had  the 
effect  to  turn  Lee  from  his  original  purpose  and  cause  him  to  move 
in  another  direction.  And  of  course  the  crafty  confederate  com- 
mander was  too  discreet  an  officer  to  enter  a  new  region  without 
knowing  a  safe  means  of  escape  in  case  disaster  should  follow  his 
invasion,  so  he  held  closely  to  the  country  within  easy  reach  of  the 
Potomac  valley. 

On  June  15  Lee's  army  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Williamsport, 
Md.,  and  entered  Pennsylvania,  encamping  near  Chambersburg, 
while  small  detachments  were  sent  to  occupy  Carlisle,  York, 
Wrightsville  and  Gettysburg.  York  and  Carlisle  were  occupied 
on  the  27th,  and  Wrightsville  wms  seized  on  the  28th.     Then  the 

105 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

invaders  turned  to  the  destruction  of  bridges  and  railroads  for  the 
purpose  of  cutting  off  communication  and  transportation  from 
points  farther  north.  On  the  30th  the  main  army  under  Lee 
broke  camp  and  marched  eastward  from  Chambersburg  through 
South  Mountain  on  the  Cashtovvn  gap  road.  At  the  same  time  the 
detachments  were  cahed  in  and  the  entire  confederate  force  was 
ordered  to  concentrate  at  Gettysburg. 

These  preHminary  movements  on  the  part  of  General  Lee's 
forces  were  not  made  without  some  show  of  opposition,  for  he  was 
beset  on  all  sides  by  the  loyal  Pennsylvanians,  although  his  de- 
tachments were  not  attacked.  In  the  towns  occupied  the  invaders 
seized  all  the  stock  and  other  property  they  could  use,  and  they 
also  committed  many  petty  acts  of  destruction  and  w^anton  insult. 
The  occupation  of  Chambersburg  was  graphically  described  at  the 
time  in  the  "Franklin  Repository,"  and  what  was  done  there  was 
but  a  repetition  of  the  acts  committed  in  other  localities,  varied 
only  by  the  temper  of  the  perpetrators  in  each  place. 

"On  Monday  morning,  June  15th,  the  flood  of  rumors  from 
the  Potomac  fully  confirmed  the  advance  of  the  rebels,  and  the 
citizens  of  Chambersburg  and  vicinity,  feeling  unable  to  resist  the 
rebel  columns,  commenced  to  make  prompt  preparation  for  the 
movement  of  all  stealable  property.  Nearly  every  horse,  good, 
bad,  and  indifferent,  was  started  for  the  mountains  as  early  on 
Monday  as  possible,  and  the  negroes  darkened  the  different  roads 
for  hours,  loaded  with  household  effects,  ....  and  horses  and 
wagons  and  cattle  crowded  every  avenue  to  places  of  safety. 
About  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  advance  of  Milroy's  retreat- 
ing wagon  train  dashed  into  town,  attended  by  a  few  cavalry  and 
several  affrighted  wagon  masters,  all  of  whom  declared  that  the 
rebels  were  in  hot  pursuit;  that  a  large  portion  of  the  train  was 
captured,  and  that  the  enemy  was  about  to  enter  Chambersburg. 

"On  Monday  morning,  the  rebel  General  Jenkins,  with  about 
1,800  mounted  infantry,  entered  Green  Castle,  Franklin  county,  a 
town  five  miles  north  of  the  Maryland  line,  and  ten  miles  south  of 

106 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

Chambersbiirg-,  in  the  direct  route  of  the  rebels.  After  a  careful 
reconnoissance  this  town,  being  defenceless,  was  occupied  and 
rapidly  divested  of  everything  movable,  contraband  and  other- 
wise, which  struck  the  fancy  of  the  freebooting  visitors.  Evi- 
dently under  the  impression  that  forces  would  be  thrown  in  their 
way  at  an  early  hour,  the  rebels  pushed  forward  for  Chambers- 
burg.  About  eleven  o'clock  on  Monday  night  they  arrived  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  town,  and  again  the  streets  of  Chambersburg 
resounded  to  the  clatter  of  rebel  cavalry,  and  a  second  time  the 
town  fell  their  easy  prey.  This  visit  continued  three  days  and 
was  marked  by  a  general  plundering  of  the  town  and  vicinity. 
Horses  seemed  to  be  considered  contraband  of  war  and  were  taken 
without  pretense  of  compensation ;  but  other  articles  were  deemed 
legitimate  subjects  of  commerce,  even  between  enemies,  and  were 

generally  paid  for  after  a  fashion The  route  of  Jenkins  was 

through  the  most  densely  populated  and  wealthy  portion  of  the 
country.  From  this  point,  on  the  i8th  of  June,  he  fell  back  to 
Green  Castle  and  south  of  it ;  thence  he  proceeded  to  Mercersburg, 
from  where  a  detachment  crossed  the  Cove  Mountain  to  McCon- 
nellsburg,  and  down  the  valley  from  there.  The  main  body, 
however,  was  divided  into  plundering  parties  and  scoured  the 
whole  southern  portion  of  the  country,  spending  several  days  in 
and  about  Green  Castle  and  Waynesboro',  and  giving  Welsh  Run 
a  pretty  intimate  visit. 

"On  Tuesday,  the  23d  of  June,  Chambersburg  was  again 
occupied  by  the  rebels  under  General  Rodes,  and  the  national 
troops  under  the  command  of  General  Joseph  Knipe,  fell  back 
toward  Harrisburg.  The  forces  of  General  Rodes  were  the  van- 
guard of  Lee's  whole  army On  Friday  Lee  came.     Up  to 

that  time  w^e  knew  not  which  way  his  army  would  turn — toward 

Gettysburg    or    Harrisburg He    stopped    in    the  Diamond, 

where  the  two  roads  fork He  tarried  a  day  or  two  near  Cham- 
bersburg. The  best  regulated  armies  are  encumbered  with  plun- 
dering stragglers.     Such  hung  on  to  Lee's  army  and  took  all  they 

107 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

could  lay  their  hands  upon.  Hats  were  snatched  from  dignified 
heads,  and  boots  were  pulled  from  feet  unused  to  walking  home 
unl)ooted. 

"Such   was   Lee's  army  on  the  way  to  Gettysburg,  but  how 
different  was  the  return.     Where  they   demanded  l)efore,   they 


Jt)Seph    llorsfield 

First  postmaster  of  Bethlehem;  appointed  by 
Washington  in  1792.  Reproduced  especially 
for  this  work  from  an  original  miniature  in 
possession  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Holland 

begged  now.  Franklin  county  saw  little  of  the  invading  host  on 
its  retreat,  and  Chambersburg  was  not  again  visited  when  the 
retreating  and  defeated  forces  made  their  escape  into  Maryland." 
While  General  Lee  and  his  army  were  occupying  the  towns  on 
the  southern  border  of  our  State,  the  military  authorities  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  of  the  general  government  were  not  idle.     Every 


108 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

move  of  the  rebels  was  watched  with  much  care  and  occasionally 
some  show  of  opposition  was  made  by  the  people,  although  their 
chief  attention  was  given  to  the  protection  of  their  property.  The 
assembling  of  large  bodies  of  militia  and  the  construction  of 
defences  in  the  vicinity  of  Harrisburg  undoubtedly  caused  the 
confederate  commander  to  turn  eastward  from  the  State  capital 
and  concentrate  his  entire  force  in  some  more  convenient  locality, 
and  thus  it  was  that  he  chose  Gettysburg  as  a  point  of  operations. 

On  June  28,  the  army  of  the  Potomac  lay  in  camp  at  Frederick, 
Maryland,  and  on  that  day  President  Lincoln  ai)pointed  General 
George  G.  Meade  t(^  its  chief  command,  with  instructions  to  pur- 
sue Lee  and  drive  him  from  his  position  in  this  State.  Acting 
under  these  orders,  Meade  at  once  informed  himself  of  the  enemy's 
location  and  then  put  his  whole  army  in  motion,  marching  toward 
Harrisburg,  the  capture  of  which  city  then  was  supposed  to  be  the 
object  of  Lee's  invasion.  However,  on  the  morning  of  July  i 
Meade  was  told  that  the  enemy  had  fallen  back  from  the  Susque- 
hanna and  was  concentrating  his  forces  in  the  vicinity  of  Gettys- 
burg. Orders  were  thereupon  given  to  General  John  F.  Rey- 
nolds to  proceed  with  the  ist  and  nth  corps  and  occupy  and  hold 
Gettysburg. 

According  to  accepted  authority  the  army  of  the  Potomac  at 
the  time  General  Meade  assumed  its  chief  command  numbered 
about  95,000  effective  men,  and  comprised  seven  army  corps  of 
infantry  and  one  of  cavalry,  viz:  The  ist  corps,  commanded  by 
General  Reynolds;  the  2d  corps,  by  General  Winfield  S.  Han- 
cock; the  3d  corps  by  General  Daniel  E.  Sickles ;  the  5th  corps  by 
General  George  Sykes ;  the  6th  corps  by  General  John  Sedgwick ; 
the  nth  corps  by  General  Oliver  O.  Howard;  and  the  12th  corps 
by  General  Henry  W.  Slocum.  The  cavalry  corps  was  under 
the  command  of  General  Alfred  Pleasonton. 

The  numerical  strength  of  General  Lee's  army  has  been  var- 
iously estimated  by  historians  of  Gettysburg,  but  nearly  all 
authorities  agree  that  the  opposing  forces  of  the  two  armies  were 

109 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

about  equal.  The  bravest  generals  of  the  Union  and  of  the  con- 
federate armies  were  arrayed  against  each  other  in  one  of  the 
most  sanguinary  battles  of  modern  times,  and  in  the  same  manner 
among  the  subordinate  officers  and  in  the  ranks  the  proud 
chivalry  of  the  South  was  pitted  in  deadly  conflict  against  the 
flower  and  the  youth  of  the  North.  Indeed,  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg was  a  veritable  battle  of  giants  of  intellectual  fighting 
strength,  and  in  its  results  the  fortunes  of  the  confederacy  were 
doomed,  while  on  the  other  hand,  the  permanency  of  our  national 
government  was  assured.  Although  the  territory  of  our  State 
was  thrice  invaded  by  confederate  forces  during  the  war,  Gettys- 
burg was  the  scene  of  the  only  heavy  battle  on  Pennsylvania  soil, 
hence  some  allusion  to  its  events  is  proper  in  this  place. 

On  the  morning  of  July  ist,  General  Reynolds  marched  his 
forces  out  on  the  Baltimore  turnpike  and  arrived  near  Gettysburg 
at  alx)ut  eleven  o'clock.  About  two  miles  farther  west  he  found 
Buford's  division  of  cavalry  engaged  in  a  sharp  skirmish  with  the 
enemy  and  at  once  moved  forward  to  his  support.  Then  followed 
a  general  engagement,  opening  with  artillery  fire,  followed  by 
closer  work  on  the  part  of  the  infantry,  on  the  hill  where  stood 
Pennsylvania  college.  Early  in  the  fight  as  he  rode  to  the  front 
to  order  a  change  in  the  position  of  his  troops.  General  Reynolds 
was  struck  in  the  neck  by  a  shot  and  died  on  the  field ;  and  thus 
fell  one  of  the  bravest  and  noblest  officers  of  the  Union  army. 

In  the  meantime  a  messenger  had  carried  to  General  Meade 
the  information  that  the  enemy  was  in  force  near  Gettysburg,  and 
General  Howard  was  at  the  same  time  ordered  to  move  forward 
with  the  nth  corps.  Howard  ordered  General  von  Steinwehr 
to  post  the  reserve  artillery  of  the  corps  on  Cemetery  hill  and  to 
dispose  of  his  force  so  as  to  hold  that  position,  and  then  rode  for- 
ward to  find  General  Doubleday,  who  had  succeeded  General 
Reynolds  in  command  of  the  ist  corps,  hard  pressed  and  fighting 
fiercely  against  superior  numbers.  They  were  soon  outflanked 
on  both  right  and  left  and  were  sorely  pressed  in  the  center  of 

no 


William  White 


Elected  first  Protestant  Episcopal  bishop  of 
Pennsylvania,  1786;  chaplain  to  Congress,  1787- 
1801;  writer  mainly  on  religious  subjects 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

their  line  of  battle.  Soon  afterward  the  Union  line  was  broken 
and  retreated  in  haste,  findini:^"  protection  behind  \-on  Steinwchr's 
men. 

When  General  Meade  learned  that  the  battle  was  in  prog-ress 
he  advanced  rapidly  with  his  entire  force,  concentrated  his  men  in 
front  of  the  enemy  and  formed  a  line  of  battle.  Says  Sv[)her: 
"General  Meade  formed  his  line  in  the  hills  in  the  shape  of  a 
horseshoe,  wdth  the  toe  nearest  the  enemy.  The  nth  corps  was 
in  the  center;  part  of  the  ist  (Reynolds's)  and  the  whole  of  the 
I2th  (Slocum's)  corps  were  on  the  right;  the  2d  (Hancock's) 
and  3(1  (Sickles')  were  on  the  left.  The  5th  (Sykes')  and  r)th 
(Sedgwick's)  and  part  of  the  3d  corps  were  held  in  reserve." 
Continuing,  the  same  writer  says  that  "a  line  of  battle  was  formed 
during  the  night  on  the  hills,  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  cemetery, 
on  the  Baltimore  pike,  and,  when  the  morning  of  the  2d  of  July 
dawned,  the  national  troops  were  strongly  posted  and  ready  for 
the  terrible  work  of  the  day.  At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
the  enemy's  batteries  opened  a  furious  fire  on  the  3d  corps,  which 
held  the  left  of  the  line;  the  rebels  emerged  from  the  woods  and 
advanced  against  the  front  and  right  flank  of  this  corps.  General 
Sickles,  who  commanded  these  troops,  was,  at  that  moment,  in  the 
rear,  consulting  with  General  Meade;  at  the  first  sound  of  the 
rebel  batteries  he  galloped  forward  to  his  men,  and  exerted  himself 
with  conspicuous  gallantry  to  preserve  his  lines  and  steady  his 
troops  as  they  fell  back  across  the  ravine ;  but  early  in  the  outset 
he  was  severely  wounded  in  the  thigh,  and  was  carried  from  the 
field.  General  Humphries,  who  commanded  the  advance  division, 
made  heroic  efforts  to  retire  the  troops,  overwhelmed  by  superior 
numbers,  in  good  order ;  every  staff  officer,  even  to  his  last  orderly, 
had  been  shot  down  at  his  side;  his  own  horse  fell  under  him;  but 
still,  at  the  head  of  his  command,  he  encouraged  his  troops,  and 
withdrew  steadily  to  the  line  of  the  5th  corps." 

When  General  Sickles  fell  the  command  of  the  3d  corps  de- 
volved upon  General  Birney,  and  as  his  line  was  forced  back  the 

3-8  113 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

advancing  confederate  columns  came  directly  under  Hancock's 
terrible  artillery  fire  of  shell  and  cannister,  which  carried  fearful 
slaughter  through  the  ranks  as  the  rebels  steadily  advanced  up 
the  hill ;  but  under  this  terrific  artillery  shower  the  attacking  col- 
umns did  not  waver,  but  forced  their  way  to  the  very  muzzle  of 
the  gtms,  driving  off  the  artillerymen  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 
But  just  as  victory  seemed  certain  General  Warren's  reserve  bat- 
teries opened  on  the  confederates  with  an  enfilading  fire,  and  with 
such  effect  that  their  ranks  were  opened  in  great  gaps.  At  the 
same  time  Hancock's  infantry  nobly  supported  the  artillery 
attack  and  poured  death-dealing  volleys  of  musketry  into  the  now 
terror-stricken  masses  of  the  enemy,  driving  them  back  with 
heavy  loss  and  recapturing  the  guns.  The  right  of  the  rebel  line 
was  now  broken,  and  the  men  fell  back  beyond  the  range  of  the 
artillery.  The  attack  was  well  planned,  splendidly  executed,  and 
for  a  time  promised  complete  success,  but  the  determined  resist- 
ance of  Hancock's  artillery,  with  Warren's  reserve  batteries, 
together  with  the  infantry  support,  changed  almost  certain  defeat 
into  glorious  victory  and  turned  the  tide  of  the  battle  in  that 
locality  in  favor  of  the  national  arms. 

Although  the  confederates  had  suffered  serious  loss  in  the 
fighting  thus  far,  there  was  no  apparent  sign  of  defeat  in  the  action 
of  their  commanding  general.  The  subsequent  events  of  the  day 
are  thus  described  in  Sypher's  narrative:  "At  dark,  a  division 
of  the  enemy  advanced  to  attack  Slocum's  line  on  the  right,  which 
had  been  weakened  to  reinforce  the  left,  and  at  the  same  time 
another  force  made  an  assault  on  Cemetery  hill,  held  by  Howard's 
corps.  The  troops  received  the  attack  with  firmness,  and  from 
their  secure  positions  behind  intrenchments  and  a  stone  wall,  easily 
repelled  the  enemy :  but  suddenly,  the  brigade  of  'Louisiana 
Tigers'  sprang  from  its  concealment  in  a  deep  ravine,  and  charged 
Howard's  right.  These  desperate  fighters  rushed  upon  the  bat- 
teries, drove  the  artillerymen  from  their  guns  and  the  infantry 
from  their  rific-pits,  and  were  in  the  act  of  turning  the  Ijatteries 

114 


CURTIN'S   ADMINISTRATION 

upon  the  Union  line,  wlicn  a  l)rii;a(le  of  (lernian  troops  fell  upon 
the  victorious  Tigers,  and  in  a  hand  to  hand  encounter,  in  which 
the  bayonet  was  freely  used  on  both  sides  and  crushing  blows 
from  clubbed  muskets  were  given  and  taken,  hurled  the  enemy 


^v 

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^^^^&£. 

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tv^^tji^'i-  ■ 

Thayendanegea — Joseph  Brant 

Great  Captain  of  the  Six  Nations  Indians;  born 
1742;  died  1807.  Reproduced  for  this  work 
from  a  print  in  possession  of  Mrs.  William  M. 
Darlington 

from  the  crest;  and  the  artillery  men,  with  murderous  rounds  of 
grape  and  cannister,  swept  the  broken  regiments  from  the  hill- 
side. On  the  extreme  right  the  enemy  had  forced  Slocum's  men 
from  their  intrenchments,  and  when  the  battle  closed,  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  night,  the  rebels  held  the  breastworks  of  the  12th 
corps,  but  elsewhere  the  line  was  intact.     Though  Sickles  had  lost 


115 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

a  large  number  of  prisoners,  Sykes  and  Hancock  had  captured 
about  an  equal  number  from  the  enemy." 

Thus  closed  the  second  day  of  the  battle  without  decided  ad- 
vantage to  either  contestant.  At  first  the  tide  of  victory  seemed 
to  turn  toward  the  confederates,  but  the  advantage  was  only  tem- 
porary and  as  frequently,  with  one  exception,  the  forces  of  Gen- 
eral Meade  regained  all  their  lost  ground.  But  the  commander 
of  the  Union  forces  was  not  fully  satisfied  with  the  results  of  the 
day,  and  at  night  he  directed  General  Slocum  to  retake  from  the 
enemy  the  intrenchments  he  had  been  compelled  to  yield. 

On  Friday,  at  daylight,  the  battle  was  renewed  with  unabated 
vigor,  when  General  Geary,  commanding  the  left  division  of  the 
1 2th  corps,  opened  his  batteries  on  the  enemy,  which  was 
responded  to  with  a  determined  charge  upon  his  line.  Almost 
immediately  Slocum's  line  became  engaged,  followed  by  the  ist 
and  a  part  of  the  nth  corps,  on  Cemetery  hill.  In  response  to 
Slocum's  fire  the  enemy  charged  him,  but  without  material  effect, 
other  than  than  serious  loss  to  themselves.  "During  six  hours," 
says  Sypher,  "the  rebels  hurled  their  solid  masses  against  well- 
defended  lines.  Nothing  during  the  war  had  surpassed  this 
scene  of  carnage.  In  front  of  Geary's  position  there  were  more 
rebel  dead  than  there  were  killed  and  wounded  in  the  whole  line 
of  the  I2th  corps.  The  slain  were  laying  in  heaps,  wounded  and 
mangled  in  every  conceival)le  manner,  from  a  single  shot  through 
the  head  to  bodies  torn  to  pieces  by  exploding  shells." 

At  ten  o'clock  General  Slocum  had  driven  the  rebels  from 
their  positions  and  re-occupied  the  intrenchments  he  had  lost  the 
day  before.  In  less  than  an  hour  afterward  the  battle  had 
ceased,  and  for  nearly  three  hours  more  almost  perfect  quiet  pre- 
vailed along  the  lines  of  both  armies.  This,  however,  was  only 
the  calm  that  precedes  the  greater  storm,  and  was  employed  by 
General  Lee  in  massing  his  artillery  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
guns  on  an  elevation  about  a  mile  in  front  of  Cemetery  hill,  while 
beyond   the   woods    Generals  Longstreet  and    Hill  formed  their 


C  UR  TIN'S    ADM  IN  IS  TRA  TION 

men  in  heavy  columns  and  held  them  in  readiness  to  charge  Gen- 
eral Meade's  left  center.  Lee's  purpose  was  to  sweep  the  hill 
where  Meade's  strength  was  concentrated,  silence  his  artillery  and 
then  with  his  solid  columns  of  infantry  drive  the  Union  forces 
from  their  position.  But  on  his  own  side  Meade  was  not  idle  and 
was  busy  with  preparations  to  meet  the  attack  which  was  so  evi- 
dent to  him.  He  massed  his  own  artillery  of  seventy  guns,  and  so 
disposed  of  his  men  as  to  afford  them  the  best  possible  protection 
against  the  enemy's  fire  and  the  desperate  infantry  charge  which 
was  expected  to  follow.  He  also  ordered  his  ofificers  to  respond 
vigorously  for  a  time  with  their  artillery,  and  then  to  gradually 
lessen  their  fire,  and  save  their  ammunition  for  an  event  which  he 
hoped  would  and  which  did  take  place. 

At  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  report  of  a  single 
gun  on  the  confederate  side  gave  the  signal  to  open  fire,  and  im- 
mediately the  thunder  of  Lee's  artillery  announced  that  the  battle 
was  resumed.  Meade  responded  with  his  own  guns  and  for  the 
next  two  hours  was  waged  one  of  the  fiercest  artillery  duels  that 
history  records.  Then  Meade's  gims  slackened  their  fire,  giving 
evidence  of  having  been  silenced,  and  his  strategem  was  successful 
in  its  results,  for  Lee's  guns  ceased  firing  and  his  infantry,  three 
columns  strong,— Pickett  in  the  center,  Wilcox  on  the  right  and 
Pettigrew  on  the  left— quickly  came  out  of  the  woods  on  Semi- 
nary ridge,  descended  into  the  valley  and  marched  straight  toward 
the  Union  lines.  Fiften  thousand  strong  and  supported  by  Lee's 
entire  force,  the  confederates  advanced  rapidly,  without  firing  a 
gun  until  the  line  of  skirmishers  engaged  and  drove  back  the  out- 
posts in  front  of  Hancock's  2d  corps.  Elated  with  the  prospect 
of  easy  victory,  the  rebel  columns  dashed  forward  in  double-quick 
time,  m  their  anxiety  to  charge  the  Union  forces  in  their  earth- 
works (Ml  the  hill;  but  as  the  advance  columns  came  within  range 
of  the  seventy  guns  which  were  supposed  to  be  silenced,  a  terrible 
fire,  both  direct  and  enfilading,  was  opened  upon  them,  inflicting 
fearful  loss  of  life,  strewing  the  hillside  with  dead  and  wounded, 

117 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

but  not  checking  the  mad  rush  of  the  survivors.  On  they  came, 
even  to  the  cannon's  mouth,  and  Pickett's  division  succeeded  in 
carrying  the  intrenchments  in  the  center,  and  for  a  brief  time  the 
colors  of  the  confederacy  were  pLinted  on  the  spot  where  Han- 
cock's men  held  their  position.  The  victory,  however,  was  brief, 
as  the  infantry  under  the  gallant  Hancock  drove  the  rebels  back 
and  turned  them  down  the  hill.  In  the  meantime  Howard's  nth 
corps  batteries  had  driven  Pettigrew's  column  from  the  slope,  and 
Sykes'  5th  corps  artillery  had  broken  Wilcox's  lines  and  scattered 
his  men  in  disorder  over  the  field. 

General  Meade  quickly  followed  up  the  advantage  his  officers 
had  gained  over  the  attacking  confederate  columns,  and  at  once 
ordered  General  Doubleday's  division  to  reinforce  the  2d  corps, 
strengthened  his  lines  at  every  point,  and  ordered  Hancock  to 
attack  Pickett's  brigades.  The  orders  were  promptly  executed, 
Pickett  was  driven  back  before  the  fierce  onslaught  of  the  now 
victorious  Union  men,  and  even  Lee's  attempt  to  protect  with  his 
artillery  the  retreat  of  his  broken  infantry  columns  was  without 
material  success.  When  Meade  discovered  that  his  victory  was 
complete  he  ordered  an  advance  of  his  whole  line,  and  the  famous 
Pennsylvania  Reserves  had  the  pleasure  of  driving  the  enemy 
from  the  position  in  the  woods  they  had  occupied  during  the  early 
part  of  the  day. 

The  day  was  now  turning  into  night,  the  battle  was  ended  and 
the  Union  army  had  achieved  a  splendid  success.  According  to 
authenticated  accounts  the  confederate  loss  amounted  to  5,500 
killed,  21,000  wounded,  and  13,621  prisoners,  a  total  loss  of 
40,121  men.  On  the  Union  side  the  losses  were  2,834  killed, 
13,709  wounded,  and  6,743  missing,  a  total  loss  of  23,186. 

On  the  night  of  July  3d,  the  broken  and  defeated  columns  of 
Lee's  army  withdrew  from  Gettysburg  and  retreated  rapidly 
toward  the  Potomac.  It  was  followed  by  Meade's  army,  but 
the  pursuit  was  slow  owing  to  the  exhausted  condition  of  the  men 
and  the  serious  losses  sustained  during  the  three  days'  fighting. 

118 


C  UR  TIN'S    ADMIN  IS  TRA  TION 

In  itself  the  most  important  contest  at  arms  waged  between 
the  North  and  the  South  during  the  Civil  war;  in  itself  the  most 
momentous  and  far-reaching  in  consequences  in  that  it  was  the 
turning  point  in  the  fortunes  of  the  confederacy,  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  also  was  the  immediate  cause  of  bringing  into  public 
view  several  of  the  most  distinguished  military  characters  known 
to  the  country  during  the  war  period.  Indeed,  Gettysburg  has 
been  called  the  developer  of  military  genius,  and  among  Pennsyl- 
vanians  in  particular  there  appears  to  have  been  an  especial 
bestowal  of  deserved  military  honors  as  a  result  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  that  occasion.  It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to 
refer  to  the  personal  valor  of  any  officer  who  fought  and  helped 
to  win  at  Gettysburg;  all  fought,  and  fought  well,  and  as  the 
result  of  their  united  efforts  a  great  victory  was  won.  That  vic- 
tory was  not  the  result  of  the  individual  valor  of  a  single  com- 
manding officer,  but  of  all  of  them  from  General  Meade  down  to 
the  regimental  commanders ;  nor  was  it  a  battle  of  officers  alone, 
for  they  outlined  the  plans  of  attack  and  defence  and  their  orders 
were  faithfully  executed  by  the  men  in  the  ranks,  the  private 
soldiers  and  artillerymen,  who  shoulder  to  shoulder  handled  their 
muskets  and  cannon  with  such  telling  effect,  and  who  without 
flinching  withstood  the  repeated  assaults  of  the  enemy.  The 
victory  at  Gettysburg  belongs  to  the  splendid  army  of  the  Potomac 
that  General  Meade  brought  into  Pennsylvania  territory  on  that 
eventful  occasion,  and  also  in  fair  part  to  the  loyal  emergency 
militia  volunteers  who  left  their  homes  and  work  to  defend  the 
honor  of  the  State  and  save  its  people  and  property  from  the  ruth- 
less arts  of  an  invading  army. 

And  Gettysburg  even  to  this  day  is  not  forgotten,  nor  are  its 
memories  dimmed  with  the  lapse  of  time.  In  the  same  year  in 
which  the  battle  was  fought  steps  were  taken  to  establish  on  the 
site  of  the  three  days'  engagement  a  Soldiers'  National  Cemetery, 
and  each  State,  which  was  represented  by  soldiers  in  the  liattle, 
was  invited  to  participate  in  the  formal  proceedings  looking  to 

119 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

tliat  end.  This  work  was  ultimately  accomplished  and  to-day  the 
Soldiers'  National  Cemetery  at  Gettysburg  is  one  of  the  most  fre- 
quented localities  in  the  entire  country.  According  to  the  plans 
of  the  commission  that  established  it,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 


William  Maclay 

First  United  States  senator  from  Pennsylvania, 
1789-1791.  Engraved  especially  for  this  work 
from  an  original  miniature 

purchased  the  tract  for  the  cemetery  and  holds  title  to  the  land 
in  trust  for  the  States  having  soldiers  buried  there,  and  the  legis- 
lature has  created  a  corporation,  consisting  of  one  trustee  ap- 
]i()inted  by  each  of  the  Governors  of  such  States  as  desire  to  be 
represented  in  the  corporation,  to  control  its  affairs. 

Following  the  retirement  of  Lee's  shattered  and  defeated  army 
from  Pcnnsv]\ania  after  the  Ijattle  of  Gettvsburg  there  was  little 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

occasion  for  excitement  within  the  State  during  the  later  months 
of  the  year,  and  the  people  soon  returned  to  their  accustomed  pur- 
suits. Had  the  result  been  different  untold  misfortunes  would 
have  been  visited  upon  the  people  and  the  whole  country  would 
have  suffered  through  the  transformation  of  one  of  the  most  loyal 
States  into  the  theatre  of  war ;  but  owing  to  the  determined  brav- 
ery of  the  splendid  army  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  hearty  co- 
operation of  the  Pennsylvania,  New  York  and  New  Jersey  troops, 
the  dreaded  calamity  was  averted  and  peace  once  more  reigned 
within  its  borders. 

The  year  1864  opened  auspiciously  for  the  Union  cause,  and 
in  no  locality  was  the  changed  situation  more  fully  appreciated  or 
more  sincerely  welcomed  than  in  our  own  State;  yet  the  troublous 
period  was  not  ended,  nor  was  the  State  to  be  exempt  from  fur- 
ther rebel  invasion,  although  in  his  inaugural  address  in  January, 
1864,  Governor  Curtin  was  able  to  give  assurance  to  his  people 
that  the  war  was  approaching  its  end.  He  carefully  reviewed  the 
whole  situation,  faithfully  reported  all  that  had  been  done  and  all 
that  was  required  to  be  done  by  the  State,  and  he  urged  upon  the 
people  the  necessity  of  patience  and  a  willingness  to  furnish  still 
more  men  should  the  exigencies  of  war  demand  further  assistance 
in  support  of  the  government.  Let  us  Cjuote  from  his  utterances 
on  this  occasion : 

"Three  years  of  bloody,  wasting  war  and  the  horrible  sacrifice 
of  a  quarter  of  a  million  lives  attest  the  desperation  of  their  (the 
confederacy)  purpose  to  overthrow  our  liberties.  IMourning  and 
sorrow  spread  over  the  entire  nation,  and  defeat  and  desolation 
are  the  terrible  trophies  won  by  the  traitors'  hand.  Our  people 
have  lieen  sorely  tried  by  disasters,  but  in  the  midst  of  the  deepest 
gloom  they  have  stood  with  unfaltering  devotion  to  the  great 
cause  of  our  common  country.  Relying  upon  the  ultimate  tri- 
umph of  the  right,  they  have  proved  themselves  equal  to  the  stern 
duty,  and  worthy  of  their  rich  inheritance  of  freedom.  Their 
fidelity  has  been  well  rewarded.     In  God's  own  good  time.  He 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

has  asserted  His  avenging  power;  and  as  this  war  is  now  per- 
sisted in  by  the  leaders  of  the  rebelHon,  it  has  become  evident  that 
slavery  and  treason,  the  fountain  and  stream  of  discord  and  death, 
must  soon  share  a  common  grave. 

"In  this  struggle  for  our  honored  nationality  Pennsylvania 
has  won  immortal  fame.  Despite  the  teachings  of  the  faithless 
and  the  hesitation  of  the  timid,  she  has  promptly  and  generously 
met  every  demand  made  upon  her,  whether  to  repel  invasion  or 
to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Union,  wherever  and  whenever  her 
people  were  demanded.  Upon  every  field  made  historic  and  sacred 
by  the  valor  of  our  troops,  some  of  the  martial  youth  of  Pennsyl- 
vania have  fallen.  There  is  scarce  a  hospital  that  has  not  been 
visited  by  our  kind  offices  to  the  sick  and  wounded;  there  is  not 
a  department  in  which  brave  men  do  not  answer  with  pride  to  the 
name  of  our  noble  State,  and  while  history  endures  loyal  hearts 
will  turn  with  feelings  of  national  pride  to  Gettysburg,  when  the 
common  deliverance  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Union  will  stand 
recorded  in  the  unsurpassed  glory  of  that  bloody  field." 

The  demands  upon  the  State  for  men  in  1864,  in  addition  to 
the  great  number  then  in  service,  aggregated  91,704,  and  they 
were  furnished  in  answer  to  the  President's  calls  and  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  war  department,  about  as  follows :  Three  years  men, 
regiments  181  to  191,  inclusive,  9,867;  under  call  of  July  6,  for 
one  hundred  days'  service,  7,675  ;  under  the  President's  authority 
to  recruit  ten  new  regiments  under  the  call  of  July  18,  for  500,000 
men  for  one  year's  service,  16,094;  recruits  forwarded  by  the 
superintendents  of  recruiting  service  at  Philadelphia  and  Harris- 
burg,  26,567;  drafted  men  and  substitutes,  10,651;  enlistments 
in  the  regular  army,  2,974;  volunteers  re-enlisted,  17,876. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1864  there  was  rumors  of  another  in- 
vasion of  Pennsylvania  by  the  Confederates,  and  so  threatening 
was  the  situation  in  and  about  Washington  that  on  July  5  the 
Governor  issued  a  proclamation  calling  for  12,000  volunteers  to 
serve  at  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  national  capital  for  a  period  of 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

one  hundred  days.  Again,  on  July  6  the  Governor  issued  a 
proclamation  calling  for  12,000  men  to  rq^el  the  invasion  of  a 
large  Confederate  force  which  had  been  detached  from  Richmond 
and  soon  afterward  was  found  to  be  within  the  borders  of  the 
State. 

However,  it  was  not  until  the  latter  part  of  July  that  the  rebels 
■invaded  the  State  in  force  and  threatened  serious  damage  to  per- 
son and  property.  The  ostensible  purpose  of  this  invasion  was 
retaliation  for  the  destruction  of  property  by  the  Union  army  in 
the  Shenandoah  valley,  but  in  fact  the  real  purpose  was  wanton 
pillage  and  the  hope  of  capturing  the  large  quantity  of  military 
stores  kept  at  Chambersburg.  The  events  of  this  incursion  into 
the  State  are  well  described  by  the  Governor  in  his  message  to 
the  Assembly  convened  in  extraordinary  session,  and  are  as  fol- 
lows : 

"On  Friday,  the  29th  of  July,  the  rebel  brigades  of  Johnston 
and  M'Causland,  consisting  of  2,500  to  3,000  mounted  men,  with 
six  guns,  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Clear  Spring  ford  and  marched 
direct  upon  Mercersburg.  There  were  but  45  (Union)  men  pick- 
eted in  that  direction,  and  as  the  enemy  succeeded  in  cutting  off 
communication,  no  information  could  be  sent  to  General  Couch, 
who  then  was  at  Chambersburg.  The  head  of  this  column  reached 
Chambersburg  at  three  o'clock  Saturday  morning,  July  30. 

"The  rebel  brigades  of  Vaughan  and  Jackson,  numbering  about 
3,000  men,  crossed  the  Potomac  about  the  same  time,  at  or  near 
WilliamspiM't,  Md.,  and  part  of  the  command  advanced  on  Ha- 
gerstown,  the  main  body  moving  on  the  road  from  Williamsport 
to  Green  Castle.  Another  rebel  column  of  infantry  and  artillery 
crossed  the  Potomac  simultaneously  at  Shepardstown  and  moved 
toward  Leitersburg.  General  Averill,  who  then  commanded  about 
2,600  men,  was  at  Hagerstown,  and,  being  threatened  in  front  by 
Vaughan  and  Jackson  on  his  right,  and  by  M'Causland  and  John- 
ston in  the  rear,  and  on  the  left  by  the  columns  which  had  crossed 
at  Shepar(lst(^wn,  he  fell  l)ack  upon  Green  Castle. 

123 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

"General  Averill  was  under  the  orders  of  General  Hunter,  but 
was  kept  as  fully  advised  by  General  Couch  as  was  possible  of 
the  enemy's  movements  on  his  right  and  in  his  rear.  General 
Couch  was  in  Chambersburg  with  sixty  infantry,  forty-five  cav- 
alry and  a  section  of  artillery,  in  all  less  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men.  The  town  of  Chambersburg  was  held  until  daylight 
by  the  small  force  under  Couch,  during  which  time  the  govern- 
ment stores  and  train  were  saved.  Two  batteries  were  then 
planted  by  the  enemy,  commanding  the  town,  and  it  was  in- 
vested by  the  whole  command  of  Johnston  and  M'Causland.  At 
seven  o'clock,  six  companies  of  dismounted  men,  commanded  by 
Sweeney,  entered  the  town,  followed  by  mounted  men  under 
Gilmor.  The  main  force  was  in  line  of  battle,  and  a  demand 
was  made  upon  the  town  for  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in 
gold,  or  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  government  funds,  as 
ransom,  and  a  number  of  citizens  were  arrested  and  temporarily 
held  as  hostages  for  its  payment.  No  offer  of  money  had  been 
made  by  citizens  of  the  town,  and  even  if  they  had  any  intention 
of  paying  a  ransom,  no  time  was  allowed  to  do  so,  as  the  rebels 
began  immediately  to  burn  and  pillage  the  town,  disregarding 
the  appeals  of  women  and  children,  the  aged  and  infirm,  and  even 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  not  protected  from  their  brutality. 

"General  Couch's  force  was  too  small  to  successfully  defend 
the  town,  but  he  held  on  and  made  every  possible  attempt  to  re- 
tard the  work  of  the  enemy  until  the  latter  had  actually  entered. 
General  Averill's  command  being  within  nine  miles  of  Cham- 
bersburg, it  was  hoped  he  would  arrive  in  time  to  save  the  town, 
and  efforts  were  made  to  communicate  with  him ;  and  while  so 
waiting  Couch's  force  held  the  enemy  in  check.  At  length 
Averill's  force  came,  but  too  late  for  the  best  results,  as  the  town 
had  then  been  sacked  and  burned  and  the  enemy  had  retired. 
Averill  pursued  and  overtook  them  at  McConnellsburg  in  time  to 
save  that  place,  and  he  at  once  gave  battle  and  drove  them  to 
Hancock,   across   the   Potomac." 

124 


:*  -*vj<  -*j  f  *-■;  'A) . ;»- 1 '  Aj  r  *,.  iAitliS 7 


"r:^ 


iB^x^- 


THIS'ricktler.liUestln^Be;!!- 
er  to  tha  Lot  in  the  Tuwn 
of  NKWCASJ"[,K  o!i  ShenoT>jro, 
Av)i'n.]i  ,'Tnsy  b^dvawn  agalnft  its 
Mumbei.  ^ 


Jo 


3>T 


^jj-^-t^-Ji^wiT)^'- 


LLiAM  Elliot. 
N  C.  StewaRi. 


^^/i-'J" 


New  Castle  Lottery  Ticket — obverse  and  reverse 

In  1796  John  Carlisle  Stewart  made  a  plotted 
rnap  of  a  part  of  "Stewart's  Vacancy,"  and 
tickets  like  the  above  were  used  in  raffling  the 
lots.  The  illustration  was  made  for  this  work 
from  an  original  ticket  in  possession  of  Oscar 
L.  Jackson 


CURT  IN' S    ADMINISTRATION 

This  was  the  last  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  territory  hy  the 
confederates  dnring  the  period  of  war,  but  the  authorities  were 
afterward  on  the  alert  to  guard  against  similar  invasions.  On 
August  1st  the  Governor  convened  the  legislature  in  extraordi- 
nary session  to  make  the  military  power  of  the  Commonwealth 
immediately  available  for  the  State  as  well  as  the  national 
defence,  and  such  measures  were  adopted  as  would  best  protect 
the  people  and  property  against  future  invasions.  At  the  same 
time  the  work  of  recruiting  and  organizing  regiments  was 
prosecuted  with  dispatch,  and  the  ranks  of  the  depleted  organi- 
zations then  at  the  front  were  kept  supplied  with  new  men. 

In  1865,  the  last  year  of  the  war,  Pennsylvania  furnished 
25,840  men  for  the  service  of  the  government  in  addition  to 
those  already  in  the  field.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year  it  was 
evident  that  the  confederacy  was  doomed  to  downfall  before  the 
season  was  far  advanced,  ytt  there  was  no  relaxation  in  energy 
or  work  necessary  to  hasten  the  end.  On  April  4th  the  Gover- 
nor was  gratified  to  issue  a  proclamation  upon  the  occasion  of 
the  fall  of  Richmond,  and  he  said :  "The  last  center  of  treason 
has  fallen.  Richmond  is  ours;  our  armies  entered  it  amid  the 
cheers  and  general  joy  of  its  rescued  inhabitants  so  long  ground 
under  the  heel  of  ursurping  oppressors.  The  beaten  rebel  host 
is  Heeing,  ])ursued  by  our  ^'ictorious  cohorts,  to  be  soon  captured 
or  dispersed." 

The  Governor  also  called  upon  all  the  people  of  the  State  to 
assemble  in  their  respective  places  of  worship  on  the  following 
Sunday,  and  "render  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  all  his  mercies, 
and  especially  for  that  He  hath  been  graciously  pleased  to  look 
favorably  upon  us  and  make  us  the  instruments  to  establish  the 
right,  to  vindicate  the  principles  of  free  government,  and  to 
prove  the  certainty  of  Divine  justice."  On  April  iQth,  scarcely 
more  than  two  weeks  later,  Governor  Curtin  felt  called  upon  to 
issue  another  proclamation,  of  a  character  less  enjoyable  than 
that  which  announced  the  fall  of  Richmond,  for  now  the  Presi- 

127 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

dent  had  fallen  under  the  death  blow  of  an  assassin,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor asked  his  people  to  suspend  all  business  pursuits  and  pay 
a  mark  of  respect  in  connection  with  the  passage  through  the 
State  of  the  remains  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  On  the  20th  another 
proclamation  announced  an  offer  of  a  reward  of  $10,000  for  the 
capture   within    the  State  of  J.  Wilkes  Booth,  the  slayer  of  the 


Fort  LcBoeuf,   Erie  County,  built  1796 

From  a  sketch  made  especially  for  this  work 

President ;  and  on  the  26th  still  another  proclamation  set  apart  a 
day  of  humiliation  and  mourning  for  the  death  of  the  late  Presi- 
dent. However,  the  proclamation  of  June  10  was  of  a  less 
mournful  character  in  that  it  was  a  congratulatory  address  to  the 
people  of  Pensylvania  upon  the  close  of  the  war. 

In  his  annual  message  in  1866,  the  Governor  says  "that  not- 
withstanding the  large  expenditures  by  the  State  for  military 
purposes  since  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion,  the  condition  of 
the  treasury  is  now  $2,555,579.13  better  than  it  was  then,  and 

128 


'^ofl'ifyii^^  /i^  ■J^y>t/'!'nmAuy/>Y(»'/7.  ,y&fiyi'/'<,iy  ^''/'yy'/0*>.ttf^s4)^r!^^A^tM  ■  'fi9C'iS 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

I  am  proud  to  be  able  to  state  that  on  the  ist  of  last  December 
(1865)  the  State  debt  was  less  than  on  January  i,  1861."  Cer- 
tainly this  was  reassuring  to  the  people  and  was  only  another 
evidence  of  the  wonderful  strength  of  the  financial  resources  of 
the  Commonwealth.  In  some  other  States  the  close  of  the  war 
found  the  treasury  almost  drained  of  funds  while  the  indebted- 
ness created  by  the  war  threatened  serious  embarrassment. 

In  the  message  the  executive  reviewed  at  some  length  the 
military  history  of  the  State  during  the  war,  and,  among  other 
things,  he  said :  "It  is  our  proud  privilege  to  have  it  remembered 
that  the  first  military  aid  from  the  loyal  States,  which  reached 
Washington,  was  the  force  of  four  hundred  and  sixty  Pennsyl- 
vanians  who  arrived  there  on  the  i8th  day  of  April,  and  that 
when  the  capital  of  the  nation  was  the  second  time  threatened 
after  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  the  regiments  of  the  Pennsylvania 

Reserve  corps  were  the  first  troops  sent  forward From  the 

beginning  of  the  w^ar  to  its  close,  the  State  has  never  faltered  in 

its  support  of  the  government Our  armies  were  sustained 

and  strengthened  in  the  field  by  the  patriotic  devotion  of  their 
friends  at  home;  and  we  can  never  render  full  justice  to  the 
heaven-directed,  patriotic  christian  benevolence  of  the  women  of 

the  State It  is  with    a   sense  of  unfeigned  gratitude  that  I 

acknowledge  how  cheerfully  and  promptly  the  legislature  and  the 
people  acted  on  my  suggestions,  whether  for  the  support  of  the 
government,  the  enlistment  and  organization  of  troops,  or  for  the 
comfort  of  our  people  already  in  the  field." 

After  the  close  of  the  war  the  remaining  years  of  Governor 
Curtin's  administration  were  devoted  to  the  work  of  re-estab- 
lishing the  economy  of  the  State  government,  and  the  care  and 
maintenance  of  those  interests  which  had  suffered  most  during 
the  eventful  period  just  passed.  This  work  called  for  the  joint 
and  earnest  endeavors  of  the  executive  and  legislative  branches  of 
government,  and  often  perplexing  questions  were  brought  before 
the  ofticial  b(jdies  f()r  settlement.     But  they  were  all  fairly  dealt 

3-9  129 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

with,  and  when  the  Governor  retired  from  office  at  the  close  of 
his  six  trying  years  of  labor,  he  carried  with  him  the  gratitude 
and  esteem  of  the  whole  people  of  the  State;  and  there  was  full 
meaning  and  sincerity  in  his  words  when  in  his  last  annual  mes- 
sage he  spoke  as  follows : 

"I  cannot  close  my  last  annual  message  without  renewing  the 
expressions  of  my  gratitude  to  the  freemen  of  the  Commonwealth 
for  the  hearty  approval  with  which  they  have  cheered  the  labors 
of  the  executive  office.  To  have  earned  such  approval  by  my 
official  conduct  during  the  last  six  years  must  always  be  a  source 
of  pride  to  myself  and  children.  Without  the  consciousness  that 
I  was  endeavoring  to  deserve  their  approval,  and  without  the  hope 
that  I  should  succeed  in  attaining  it,  I  must  have  sunk  under  the 
responsibility  of  my  position.  It  was  only  a  reliance  on  Divine 
Providence  and  the  active,  resolute  and  hearty  support  and  zeal 
of  the  people  and  their  representatives  that  encouraged  me  during 
the  dark  and  terrible  crisis  through  which  the  country  has  passed. 
I  tried  to  do  my  duty  to  my  country,  and  I  know  that  I  w^as  at 
least  faithful  to  her  in  her  deep  distress,  and  I  conceived  that  duty 
not  to  be  limited  to  the  merely  putting  of  men  into  the  field  to 
suppress  treason  and  rebellion,  and  maintain  the  national  life,  and 
doing  of  everything  in  my  power  to  sustain  the  just  war  forced 
upon  us.  I  also  felt  bound,  as  far  as  I  could,  to  protect  and  pro- 
mote the  rights  and  comforts  of  our  volunteers,  after  they  had 
left  the  State,  to  aid  and  relieve  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  to  care 
for  the  transmission  to  their  bereaved  families  of  the  precious 
bodies  of  the  slain,  and  the  maintenance  and  education  of  their 
orphans  as  honored  children  of  the  country." 

From  the  earliest  years  of  the  war  the  honor  of  the  State  was 
pledged  to  the  maintenance  of  those  who  were  incapacitated  for 
accustomed  employments  as  a  result  of  their  service,  and  also 
those  who  were  widowed  or  orphaned  or  made  charges  upon  the 
public  by  reason  of  loss  of  parental  care.  This  pledge  has  been 
fully  kept,  and  as  early  as  1863  a  plan  was  adopted  for  the  edu- 

130 


CURTIN'S    ADMINISTRATION 

cation  and  maintenance  of  destitute  orphans  of  soldiers,  although 
the  generous  pension  system  established  by  the  national  Congress 
has  relieved  the  State  of  much  of  its  direct  obligation  to  extend 
support  to  those  who  were  made  to  suffer  through  their  service 
to  the  government.  However,  in  the  fulfillment  of  its  voluntary 
ofifer,  the  State  in  1885  established  and  now  maintains  at  Erie  the 
Pennsylvania  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Home,  where  are  supported 
nearly  five  hundred  dependents  on  the  bounty  of  the  Common- 
wealth; and  in  addition  thereto  there  are  likewise  maintained  at 
the  expense  of  the  State  three  Soldiers'  Orphan  schools,  located, 
respectively,  at  Scotland,  Franklin  county,  Chester  Springs,  Ches- 
ter county,  and  Uniontown,  Fayette  county. 


131 


CHAPTER  V. 

GEARY'S  ADMINISTRATION-1867-1873 

THE  close  of  Curtin's  administration  marks  the  end  of  the 
war  period  in  Pennsylvania  history.  The  State  had  borne 
an  honorable  and  conspicuous  part  in  the  great  struggle 
between  the  two  sections,  and  her  own  soil  was  rendered  conse- 
crated ground  by  the  blood  ci  heroes.  Promptly  did  the  soldiers 
of  Pennsylvania  answer  their  country's  call,  and  promptly  did  they 
sheathe  their  swords  when  the  battle's  din  was  over.  With  the 
return  of  peace,  there  followed  unusual  activity  in  business ;  and 
the  energies  of  the  people  were  all  directed  towards  the  develop- 
ment of  the  great  resources  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Governor  Curtin  retired  from  the  executive  chair,  honored  by 
all  parties  as  a  zealous  defender  of  the  constitution.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  W.  Geary,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  war,  a  native 
of  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania.  General  Geary  was  nom- 
inated by  the  Republican  party  in  the  spring  of  1866,  while  his 
Democratic  opponent  was  Hiester  Clymer.  Geary's  candidacy 
was  everywhere  received  with  favor  and  he  was  elected  by  a  ma- 
jority of  over  seventeen  thousand  votes.  He  was  inaugurated  on 
January  15,  1867.  Re-elected  for  a  second  term,  his  administra- 
tion continued  until  January  21,  1873. 

General  Geary  became  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  with  a  wide 
experience  in  both  civil  and  military  affairs.  Born  in  Westmore- 
land county  in  1S19,  he  received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools,  and  finally  graduated  from  Jefferson  College.     He  then 

133 


GEARY'S    ADMINISTRATION 

began  the  study  of  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  While  in 
college  he  became  proficient  in  civil  engineering  studies,  and  he 
afterwards  passed  some  time  in  engineering  work  in  Kentucky. 
In  1844  he  was  appointed  assistant  superintendent  and  engineer 
of  the  Allegheny  Portage  Railroad ;  but  on  the  declaration  of  war 
with  Mexico  in  1846  Geary  enlisted  a  company,  and  soon  received 
a  commission  as  Lieutenant-Colonel.  He  was  slightly  wounded 
at  Chapultepec;  but,  continuing  in  the  service,  became  Colonel  of  a 
regiment  after  the  surrender  of  the  city  of  Mexico.  He  then  as- 
sisted in  organizing  civil  institutions  in  California.  In  1849  he 
was  appointed  postmaster  of  San  Francisco  and  mail  agent  for  the 
Pacific  C(^ast.  In  a  few  months  he  was  elected  First  Alcade  of 
the  city,  his  duties  including  those  of  Judge  of  First  Instance  with 
wide  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction.  In  1850  Geary  was  elected 
Mayor  of  San  Francisco,  but  declined  a  re-election.  Returning 
to  Western  Pennsylvania,  he  took  up  a  farm,  and  entered  upon 
the  business  of  stock  raising.  In  1855  he  was  again  urged  to 
accept  public  office,  the  governorship  of  Utah,  which  he  declined. 
A  vear  later,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  President,  he  be- 
came Governor  of  Kansas,  then  a  scene  of  strife  and  bloodshed. 
He  was  soon  able  to  establish  the  supremacy  of  the  law,  and  he 
held  this  office  until  the  accession  of  Buchanan  to  the  ])residency, 
when  he  resigned  and  returned  to  his  Pennsylvania  home.  On 
the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion,  Geary  promptly  responded  to  the 
call  to  arms.  He  raised  a  regiment,  the  28th  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  commissioned  its  Colonel.  In  1862  he  was  promoted  Brigadier- 
General  of  volunteers.  He  was  wounded  at  Cedar  Mountain  ;  but 
on  his  return  to  duty  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  sec- 
ond division  of  the  Twelfth  Corps.  He  was  present  at  the  en- 
gagements of  Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  and 
Lookout  Mountain.  He  participated  in  Sherman's  march  to  the 
sea,  and  was  appointed  Military  Governor  of  Savannah.  After 
the  grand  review  at  Washington,  he  was  mustered  out  of  service, 
and  returned  to  his  farm  in  Pennsylvania.     He  was  not  permitted 

133 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

to  enjoy  very  long  his  favorite  pursuit  of  agriculture,  being  called 
to  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  State  in  the  October  election  of 
1866.  Governor  Geary  expressed  his  personal  feelings  of  respon- 
sibility, at  his  inaugiu'ation  in  January,  1867,  as  follows:  "Pro- 
foundly sensible  of  everything  that  is  implied  by  this  manifestation 
of  the  people's  confidence,  and  more  deeply  impressed  with  the 
vast  importance  and  responsibility  of  the  office  than  elevated  by 
its  attendant  honors,  let  it  be  our  first  grateful  duty  to  return  fer- 
vent thanksgivings  to  Almighty  God  for  His  constant  providence 
and  innumerable  blessings  to  us  as  a  people;  and  especially  mine 
to  implore  His  aid  and  counsel  in  the  discharge  of  civil  trusts, 
who  has  been  my  shield  and  buckler  amidst  scenes  of  peril  and 
death.  That  in  the  administration  of  government  I  may  err  is 
only  what  should  be  expected  from  the  infirmities  of  the  human 
mind ;  but  as  I  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  my  responsible  duties 
with  a  firm  resolution  to  act  with  honesty  and  impartiality,  I  trust 
my  errors  will  be  regarded  with  charity,  and  treated  with  the 
gentleness  of  magnanimous  forgiveness.  I  earnestly  hope  that 
my  intercourse  with  my  fellow-citizens  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives  will  be  so  frank  and  cordial  that  our  duties  to 
a  common  constituency  will  be  pleasantly  as  well  as  faithfully  dis- 
charged. Different  branches  of  the  government  as  we  are,  with 
distinctive  duties,  we  are,  nevertheless,  parts  of  one  organized  and 
well-regulated  system,  and,  as  we  co-operate  or  disagree,  the 
interests  of  the  State  will  probably  be  promoted  or  retarded. 
Elected  by  the  people,  and  desirous  to  promote  the  welfare  of 
every  citizen,  mere  party  differences  should  not  be  allowed  to 
interfere  with  the  maintenance  of  a  generous,  just,  and  compre- 
hensive public  policy." 

Pennsylvania  shared  the  general  prosperity  of  the  nation  after 
<:he  war ;  therefore,  Geary's  administration  is  marked  by  a  great 
reduction  in  the  State  debt,  and  by  vast  industrial  development. 
The  Commonwealth  showed  a  generous  spirit  toward  those  citi- 
zens \\  111)  liad  suffered  ])ropcrty  losses  during  the  war.     The  south- 

134 


GEARY'S    ADMINISTRATION 

ern  border  counties  had  been  ravaged  by  the  several  rebel  inva- 
sions, and  l)y  the  movement  of  Union  troops  through  that  region. 
In  order  to  compensate  those  "whose  property  was  destroyed, 


Homestead  of  General  David  Mead 


General  Mead  early  titled  up  a  block  house  for 
the  safety  of  his  neigbors  and  in  the  winter  of 
1798-99  had  opened  in  it  the  first  Crawford 
County  school ;  the  tablet  in  front  of  the  Mead 
house  reads:  "This  house  was  erected  May, 
1797,  by  General  David  Mead;  founder  of 
Meadville;  ensign  in  the  war  of  the  American 
Revolution;  major-general  of  the  14th  and  15th 
divisions  Pennsylvania  militia;  rendered  signal 
service  in  the  war  of  1S12;  and  an  associate 
judge  at  time  of  his  death.  Placed  by  the  Col. 
Crawford  Chapter  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution,  May,  1902."  From  a  negative 
made    especially    for    this   work. 


damag-ed,  or  appropriated  for  the  public  service,  and  in  the  com- 
mon defence  in  the  war  to  suppress  the  rebellion,"  the  legislature 
passed  an  act  on  April  9.  1868,  providing  for  the  appointment  of 
commissioners  for  the  adjudication  of  all  claims.    Allowance  was 


135 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

made  for  damages  in  many  cases ;  while  the  national  government 
also  made  appropriations  for  some  of  the  losses  sustained. 

On  April  22,  1858,  an  act  of  the  legislature  was  approved  "to 
contract  for  and  superintend  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  who  were  slain  or  lost  their 
li\-es  in  the  late  war  with  Mexico."  Commissioners  were  appointed 
to  superintend  the  erection  of  this  monument  on  the  grounds  of 
the  Capitol  at  Harrisburg.  The  sum  of  $6,000  had  been  appro- 
priated for  this  purpose;  it  appears,  however,  that  this  sum  was 
not  adequate,  for  Governor  Geary,  in  his  message  of  1868,  asked 
for  $2,200  additional  in  order  to  complete  the  shaft. 

During  Governor  Geary's  administration  of  six  years,  the 
State  debt  was  reduced  over  ten  million  dollars,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  legislative  appropriations  were  of  the  most  liberal 
character,  those  to  schools  and  charitable  institutions  alone  ex- 
ceeding seventeen  million  dollars.  At  the  same  time,  the  whole 
current  of  legislation  was  in  favor  of  reduced  taxation.  Besides 
a  number  of  local  laws  exempting  churches,  cemeteries,  schools, 
hospitals,  and  other  institutions  from  taxation,  the  following  gen- 
eral laws  of  the  same  character  were  passed : 

"  ( I )  By  the  act  to  amend  the  revenue  laws,  approved  February 
2^,  1866,  all  real  estate  in  the  Commonwealth  was  thereafter  made 
exempt  from  taxation  for  State  purposes. 

(2)  By  the  act  approved  March  30,  1866,  all  persons  who 
served  nine  months  or  upwards  in  the  military  service,  or  who 
were  honorably  discharged  therefrom  by  reason  of  wounds  or 
physical  disability  contracted  therein,  and  their  property,  were 
exonerated  from  all  bounties,  and  per  capita  tax,  and  military 
fines. 

"(3)  The  act  of  April  29,  1867,  repealed  all  laws  requiring 
payment  of  taxes  to  the  State  on  sales  of  loans  and  stocks  by  auc- 
tioneers. 

"(4)  By  the  act  of  April  10,  1867,  all  trustees,  or  owners  of 
property  to 'the  x'alue  of  thirty-five  thousand  dollars,  used  for  sol- 

136 


GEARY'S    ADMINISTRATION 

diers'  orphans'  schools,  were  exempted  from  ah  county,  road,  city, 
boroui^h,  poor  and  school  taxes. 

"(5)  By  the  act  of  April  4,  1868,  and  the  snpplcments  thereto, 
all  mortgages,  judgments,  recognizances,  and  moneys  owing  upon 
articles  of  agreement  for  the  sale  of  real  estate,  were  made  ex- 
empt from  all  taxation,  except  for  State  purposes. 

"(6)  By  the  act  approved  January  3,  1868,  all  laws  therein  re- 
cited were  repealed,  which  imposed  taxes  upon  the  shares  of  stock 
held  by  any  stockholder  in  any  institution  or  company,  incorpo- 
rated under  the  laws  of  this  State,  which  in  its  corporate  capacity 
is  liable  to,  and  pays  into  the  State  treasury  the  tax  on  capital 
stock  imposed  by  the  acts  therein  recited. 

"(7)  The  act  of  June  2,  1871,  repealed  so  much  of  the  law  of 
April  29.  1844,  as  imposed  a  tax  of  two  per  cent,  on  salaries. 
trades,  offices,  occupations  and  professions. 

"(8)  By  the  act  of  April  3,  1872,  the  sixth  section  of  the  law 
of  April  21,  1854,  was  repealed,  which  imposed  a  tax  of  one-half 
of  one  per  cent,  on  the  capital  stock  of  all  corporations  created 
under  laws  to  enable  joint  tenants,  tenants  in  common,  and  ad- 
joining owners  of  mineral  lands,  to  manage  and  develop  the 
same."^ 

While  these  measures  relieved  thousands  of  people  from  the 
burdens  of  taxation.  Governor  Geary  believed  that  the  work  of 
reduction  should  extend  much  further.  In  his  last  annual  mes- 
sage to  the  Assembly,  Jan.  8,  1873,  he  referred  to  this  subject  as 
follows :  "Nothing  but  very  strong  necessity  could  justify  such  a 
variety  of  taxes  upon  the  same  thing.  And  if  any  justification 
ever  existed.  I  believe  it  to  exist  no  longer.  "Jlie  time  has  come 
when,  with  proper  diligence  in  collection,  and  economy  in  ex- 
penditures, the  State  can  well  afford  a  reduction  of  taxation ;  and 
legislation  in  that  direction  should  be  such  as  to  relieve  the  undue 
burdens  of  taxation  from  every  form  of  productive  industry.     T 

'  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Fourth  Series. 
vol.  g,  p.  142. 

137 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

would,  therefore,  recommend  that  the  enrolment  tax  upon  private 
acts  chartering  industrial  companies,  and  the  bonus  upon  stock  of 
such  companies  when  organized  under  general  laws,  be  considered 
a  full  equivalent  to  the  Commonwealth  for  the  privileges  of  a 
charter;  and  that  all  State  taxes  upon  capital  stock,  net  earnings 
and  dividends  of  manufacturing,  mining  and  improvement  com- 
panies, and  all  co-operative  associations,  be  repealed.  This  re- 
duction will  amount  to  $549,554.23 — the  sum  collected  last  year. 
I  also  recommend  the  appeal  of  that  source  of  revenue  known  in 
the  Auditor-General's  report  as  taxes  on  loans,  which  amounts  to 
$492,407.28.  It  is  confidently  believed  that  with  these  proposed 
reductions,  which  amount  to  v$i, 041, 961.51,  the  State  can  still  pay 
all  her  current  expenses,  the  interest  on  the  public  debt,  and  make 
an  annual  reduction  of  at  least  one  million,  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars  upon  the  principal."^ 

During  the  six  years  of  Geary's  administration,  the  school 
system  of  the  State  flourished  and  grew  in  popular  favor.  The 
total  expenditures  for  public  education  in  this  period  exceeded 
forty-two  million  dollars.  The  legislative  appropriations  amounted 
to  about  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  annually,  the  remainder 
being  raised  by  local  taxation.  At  this  time,  James  P.  Wicker- 
sham  was  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,  receiving  his  ap- 
pointment in  the  spring  of  1866,  and  serving  until  April  i,  1881, 
a  period  of  fourteen  years  and  five  months.  Mr.  Wickersham 
was  a  man  of  rare  executive  abilities,  and  the  school  system  of  the 
State  as  it  exists  to-day  owes  much  to  his  untiring  efforts  in  be- 
half of  popular  education.  In  referring  to  his  appointment,  Mr. 
Wickersham  said :  "The  war  was  over.  The  armies  had  been 
disbanded.  The  industries  of  peace  had  begun  to  flourish  anew. 
The  nation  seemed  about  to  take  a  fresh  start  in  life.  Business 
interests  of  all  kinds  betokened  a  stir,  and  a  strength  unknown 
before.     It  was  the  forces  generated  in  the  recent  struggle  turned 


'"Pennsylvania  Archives."  Fourth  .Series, 
vol.  9,  p.  MS. 


138 


GEARY'S    ADMINISTRATION 

into  new  channels.  With  this  material  development,  there  came 
such  a  quickening  of  intellectual  activity,  and  such  a  breaking  up 
of  the  old  conservative  crust  that  had  long  obstructed  all  educa- 
tional progress,  as  to  give  a  promising  outlook  to  the  future  of 
school  affairs.  A  well-directed  forward  movement  seemed  cer- 
tain to  succeed.  The  iron  was  hot,  and  only  waited  for  the  timely 
stroke."^  Mr.  Wickersham  was  undoubtedly  the  man  of  the 
hour,  and  under  his  leadership  the  whole  school  system  began  to 
feel  the  impulses  of  a  new  life.  His  high  ideals  have  not  yet  been 
fully  realized.  It  was  his  desire  to  enlarge  the  scope  and  powers 
of  the  Department  of  Common  Schools,  so  as  to  give  it  ample 
authority  over  all  the  educational  instituticms  nf  the  State,  thus 
unifying  the  various  school  interests  and  making  an  harmonious 
system  from  the  lower  schools  through  the  colleges  and  univer- 
sities. The  plan  was  not  adopted ;  but  we  look  back  in  regret 
to-day,  and  realize  what  a  grand  opportunity  was  lost  by  the  State 
to  create  a  vigorous  Department  of  Education,  and  at  the  same 
time  form  a  comprehensive  system  of  public  instruction.  Mr. 
Wickersham  deplored  this  condition  of  affairs,  and,  in  one  of  his 
reports,  said :  "We  must  have  union  and  harmony  among  those 
who  are  striving  to  reach  the  same  goal.  We  must  move  upon 
the  strongholds  of  ignorance  in  solid  column,  not  in  broken  de- 
tachments. The  cause  of  education  suffers  from  clashing  inter- 
ests and  divided  efforts  in  its  behalf.  Our  common  schools  do 
not  enlist  as  fully  as  they  deserve  the  sympathy  of  educated  men. 
Our  youth,  by  hundreds,  are  going  out  of  the  State  for  an  edu- 
cation which  they  ought  to  receive  at  home,  and  our  colleges  and 
academies  are  attracting  comparatively  few  students  from  abroad. 
Our  charitable  institutions,  which  have  in  many  respects  common 
aims  and  common  interests,  have  not,  as  at  present  managed,  any 
system  of  communication  or  bond  of  union.  There  must  be  a  new 
awakening.   Pennsylvania  has  a  giant's  power  ;  it  must  be  evoked." 

'  Wickersham's  "History  of  Education  in 
Pennsylvania,"  p.  551. 

139 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

The  department  of  public  instruction  was  thus  in  able  hands 
during-  Geary's  administration,  and  the  Governor,  in  his  messages, 
frecjuently  referred  to  the  satisfactory  progress  of  the  schools. 
The  soldiers'  orphan  schools,  founded  in  1865,  also  received 
generous  support  from  the  legislature,  in  seven  years  over  three 
million  dollars  having  been  expended  on  these  institutions.  The 
Governor,  a  soldier  himself,  took  a  pardonable  pride  in  these 
schools,  and  in  his  message  of  January  8,  1873,  he  referred  to  them 
as  follows :  "Among  the  other  States  of  the  American  Union, 
Pennsylvania  stands  pre-eminent  in  her  care  for  the  soldier  who 
has  borne  the  battle,  and  for  his  widow  and  orphan  children.  The 
noble  scheme  for  clothing,  educating,  maintaining  and  adopting 
the  orphan  children  of  her  soldiers  who  gave  their  lives  in  defence 
of  the  National  Union — in  this  the  generosity  of  her  people  has 
been  imitated,  but  not  equalled  by  those  of  any  other  State.  To 
her  will  forever  be  accorded  the  leadership  in  this  work  of  patriotic 
bene^■olence.  It  will  form  the  brightest  page  of  her  history.  It 
will  seal  the  devotion  of  her  people  to  the  common  country ;  and 
our  legislators,  in  view  of  its  benign  influence,  will  continue  to 
accord  a  cheerful  and  liberal  support  to  a  system  so  fruitful  in 
blessing  to  the  orphan  children  of  our  martyred  heroes." 

With  the  growth  of  various  State  institutions  it  became  nec- 
essary in  Geary's  administration  to  organize  several  bureaus  and 
boards,  the  first  of  which  was  the  board  of  Public  Charities  estab- 
lished by  an  act  of  the  legislature  in  1869.  The  Governor  ap- 
pointed General  Thomas  L.  Kane,  F.  B.  Penniman,  Esq.,  Hon.  G. 
Dawson  Coleman,  and  George  L.  Harrison,  Esq.,  as  members  of 
this  board,  upon  whom  was  placed  the  responsibility  of  managing 
public  charities.  These  gentlemen  were  also  vested  with  the  au- 
thority to  inspect  all  the  establishments  receiving  appropriations 
from  the  State,  thus  giving  an  assurance  to  the  legislature  and 
the  people  that  their  benefactions  were  worthily  bestowed.  The 
Board  of  Charities  also  made  a  careful  investigation  of  prison  dis- 
cipline, and  of  the  condition  and  treatment  of  the  insane,  embody- 

140 


Thomas  ^Mifflin 


Delegate  to  Continental  Congress,  i774;  first 
aide-de-camp  of  Washington  in  Revolutionary 
war,  with  rank  of  colonel;  quartermaster-gen- 
eral Revolutionary  army,  i775;  commissioned 
brigadier-general,  1776,  and  major-general, 
1777;  congressman,  1783;  speaker  State  Legis- 
lature, 1785;  delegate  to  Federal  Constitutional 
Convention,  1787;  president  State  Supreme  Ex- 
ecutive Council,  1788-1790;  presided  over  State 
Constitutional  Convention,  179°;  first  State 
governor,   1 790-1 799 


GEARY'S    ADMINISTRATION 

ing  the  whole  in  an  elaborate  report,  containing  a  large  amount 
of  statistical  information. 

By  an  act  of  the  legislature,  approved  April  12,  1872,  the 
bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  and  of  Agriculture  was  established, 
and  the  Governor  was  authorized  to  appoint  a  commissioner  of 
that  department.  Governor  Geary  appointed  Thomas  C.  Mac- 
Dowell,  of  Dauphin  county,  to  this  office,  and  he  immediately 
began  the  work  of  collecting  statistics,  which  in  due  time  were 
laid  before  the  legislature.  The  rapid  development  of  the  State 
in  industrial  wealth  fully  justified  the  creation  of  this  bureau.  In 
1872,  Pennsylvania  ranked  second  in  population;  second  in  man- 
ufactures ;  sixth  as  a  wheat  producing  State,  and  first  in  mineral 
wealth  and  resources,  among  the  States  of  the  Union.  The  pro- 
duction of  anthracite  coal  in  1870  exceeded  nineteen  million  tons; 
while  the  bituminous  output  the  same  year  was  more  than  four- 
teen million  tons.  The  production  of  oil  in  the  northwestern 
counties  in  1868  was  327,692,524  gallons.  The  statistics  in  other 
lines  of  industry  also  showed  a  marvelous  increase  in  wealth. 
Thus,  the  new  bureau  found  an  inviting  field  for  gathering  sta- 
tistics, which  would  not  only  furnish  information  for  the  legis- 
lature, but  also  invite  the  attention  of  capitalists  by  reliable  state- 
ments of  facts. 

On  September  18,  1872,  a  convention  of  delegates  from  the 
States  of  Pennsylvania,  West  Virginia,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Ohio, 
Kentucky,  and  Tennessee  met  in  Cincinnati  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  the  improvement  of  navigation  on  the  Ohio  river. 
The  convention  remained  in  session  two  days,  and  appointed  com- 
mittees on  statistics,  legislation,  water  supply  and  available  reser- 
voirs, and  an  executive  committee  with  power  to  act  in  the  inter- 
vals of  the  regular  sessions.  Mr.  Thurston,  one  of  the  delegates 
from  Pennsylvania,  prepared  and  submitted  an  exhaustive  memo- 
rial covering  every  phase  of  the  subject,  urging  the  States  con- 
cerned to  contribute  funds  for  making  necessary  improvements 
on  the  river,  and  also  inviting  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the 

143 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

enterprise.  Governor  Geary  was  enthnsiastic  over  the  matter, 
and  he  spoke  of  it  in  his  message  of  January  8,  1873,  as  fohows : 
"The  claims  of  this  subject  to  your  prompt  and  favorable  con- 
sideration and  that  of  Congress  will  hardly  be  questioned  when  it 
is  remembered  that  it  is  presented  by  gentlemen  who  represent 
one-half  of  the  population  of  the  country ;    that  the  people  who 


Old  AlilUm  Mansion 

Residence  of  Pennsylvania's  first  governor 

\v(jul(l  be  dirccli}'  or  indirectl)'  Ijcnehted  In'  the  contemplated  im- 
provement possess  one-half  of  its  cultivated  lands,  raise  sixty  per 
cent,  of  its  agricultural  products,  breed  sixty  per  cent,  of  its  live 
stock,  over  fifty  per  cent,  of  its  capital  invested  in  farming  imple- 
ments and  machinery,  and  have,  heretofore,  paid  thirty-five  per 
cent,  of  its  internal  taxation,  and  contributed  a  corresponding 
share  toward  the  payment  of  the  national  debt." 

There  was  but  little  disorder  within  the  borders  of  the  State 
during  Geary's  administration.      In   1868,  there  was  a  strike  of 


144 


GEARY'S   ADMINISTRATION 

the  anthracite  coal  miners  for  an  eight-hour  day ;  hut  it  was  not 
successful.  It  resulted,  however,  in  a  strong-  (organization  of  the 
miners,  which  exists  to  our  own  day,  having  only  recently  demon- 
strated its  power  in  the  greatest  coal  strike  of  all  history.  In 
1871,  there  was  a  strike  in  Luzerne  county  against  a  reduction  (jf 
wages.  The  riotous  condition  of  affairs  in  that  region  made  it 
necessary  to  call  out  the  National  Guard.  The  presence  of  the 
soldiers  at  Scranton  gave  ample  protection  to  that  city;  otherwise 
it  might  have  been  reduced  to  ashes,  and  many  lives  might  have 
been  lost.  The  expenses  necessary  for  the  suppression  of  these 
disturbances  were  considerable,  amounting  to  nearly  thirty-eight 
thousand  dollars,  which  sum  was  appropriated  in  full  by  the  legis- 
lature. The  troubles  which  led  to  this  strike  were  finally  settled 
by  arbitration,  one  of  the  first  instances,  it  is  said,  where  this 
method  was  used  for  the  settlement  of  disputes  with  the  laboring 
classes. 

Governor  Geary  exercised  a  free  use  of  the  veto  power,  thus 
preventing  much  vicious  special  legislation,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
saving  the  State  many  million  dollars.  His  most  noted  veto  was 
that  on  April  7,  1870,  of  Senate  bill  No.  1070,  which  provided 
that  nine  and  one-half  million  dollars  should  be  drawn  from  the 
sinking  fund  of  the  State  in  aid  of  certain  railroads.  In  vetoing 
this  measure,  the  Governor  said :  "Every  one  familiar  with  the 
history  of  our  State  constitution  knows  the  objects  for  which 
these  clauses  were  inserted  and  adopted.  Our  State  has  been 
cursed  with  omnibus  legislation,  enacted  by  what,  in  common  leg- 
islative parlance,  was  known  as  the  system  of  log-rolling.  Meas- 
ures which  alone  could  not  stand  upon  their  merits,  and  which 
often  had  no  merits  on  which  to  stand,  were  fastened  together  in 
one  bill,  and  by  ingenious  combinations  of  local  interests,  the  most 
incongruous,  and  sometimes  iniquitous  provisions,  were  forced 
through  in  the  same  act.  Essentially  diverse,  conflicting,  and 
even  ri\'al  and  hostile  interests  and  parties,  who  could  agree  upon 
nothing  else,  were  thus  induced  to  unite  in  a  common  raid  upon 

3-10  T45 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

the  treasury  of  the  State.  This  evil  became  in  time  so  intolerable 
that  the  people  were  at  last  compelled  to  protect  themselves  against 
it ;  and  they  did  so  by  these  plain  constitutional  prohibitions. 
The  people  in  their  sovereign  capacity,  declared  and  wrote  it  in 
their  constitution  that  'no  bill  should  be  passed  by  the  legislature 
containing  more  than  one  subject;'  and  that  'no  law  hereafter  en- 
acted shall  create,  renew  or  extend  the  charter  of  more  than  one 
corporation.'  "  This  veto  message  stands  as  one  of  Governor 
Geary's  most  important  state  papers.  It  pointed  out  in  no  un- 
certain language  the  evils  of  special  and  omnibus  legislation  so 
prevalent  at  the  time,  but  which  were  at  last  removed  in  the  new 
constitution  of  1873. 

The  year  1872  is  interesting  both  in  national  and  in  State  pol- 
itics. In  that  year  was  held  the  election  for  President  of  the 
United  States  and  also  for  Governor  of  Pennsylvania.  General 
Grant  was  re-nominated  for  President  by  the  Republican  party; 
but  a  formidable  opposition  had  been  growing,  which  united  under 
the  name  of  the  Liberal  Republican  party  and  nominated  Horace 
Greeley.  Then  followed  one  of  the  most  remarkable  presidential 
campaigns  in  all  our  history.  It  naturally  affected  the  local  elec- 
tions in  every  northern  State.  That  year  the  Republicans  of 
Pennylvania  nominated  General  John  F.  Hartranft  for  Governor ; 
while  the  Democratic  standard  bearer  was  Charles  R.  Buckalew. 
Both  candidates  were  well  and  favorably  known — Hartranft  as  a 
gallant  general  in  the  Civil  war,  and  Buckalew  as  United  States 
Senator  from  Pennsylvania  between  1863  and  1869.  The  na- 
tional contest  had  marked  effects  upon  the  State  campaign,  many 
prominent  Republicans,  including  Curtin,  joining  the  Liberal 
movement.  But  Hartranft  was  elected,  and,  like  Geary,  he  served 
a  second  term,  his  administration  ending  in  1879.  On  retiring 
from  office  Governor  Geary  paid  the  following  gracious  compli- 
ment to  his  successor :  "Major-General  John  F.  Hartranft  sig- 
nally has  illustrated  his  courage  and  patriotism  on  many  fiercely 
contested  fields  of  battle;  and  qualities  that  have  made  his  repu- 

146 


GEARY'S    ADMINISTRATION 

tation  as  a  soldier,  have  been  no  less  conspicuous  in  the  pursuits 
of  civil  life.  He  will  bring  to  the  discharge  of  his  duties  a  large 
and  valuable  experience  in  the  management  of  public  affairs ;  and 
all  that  is  known  of  his  antecedents  may  be  regarded  as  a  guar- 
anty for  that  confidence  of  the  people  who  have  elevated  him  to 
the  gubernatorial  chair  by  so  large  a  majority.  I  bespeak  for 
him  your  hearty  co-operation  in  guarding  and  advancing  the 
public  interests." 

Governor  Geary  was  not  permitted  to  long  enjoy  the  retire- 
ment of  private  life,  death  suddenly  calling  him  on  February  8, 
1873- 


147 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HARTRANFT'S  ADMINISTRATION— 1873-1879 

JOHN  FREDERICK  HARTRANFT,  the  new  Governor, 
who  was  inaugurated  on  January  21,  1873,  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania,  of  German  ancestry,  in 
1830.  He  was  educated  at  Union  College,  and  intended  to  follow 
the  profession  of  civil  engineering.  He  abandoned  this  plan, 
however,  and  in  1854,  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  of  Mont- 
gomery county,  a  position  which  he  held  for  two  terms.  In  the 
meantime  he  began  the  study  of  law,  and  in  1859  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  his  native  county.  Mr.  Hartranft  was  by  nature 
a  soldier,  and  early  in  life  became  prominent  in  militia  affairs. 
At  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  in  186 1,  he  became  Colonel  of  the 
first  regiment  of  Montgomery  county  militia,  which  was  at  once 
mustered  into  active  service.  Colonel  Hartranft  acted  for 
a  while  on  the  staff  of  General  Franklin.  Then  he  organized  the 
51st  Pennsylvania  Infantry,  and  participated  with  Burnside's 
command  in  the  North  Carolina  expedition  of  1862.  At  the 
battle  of  Antietam,  he  led  the  famous  charge  at  the  stone  bridge, 
after  which  he  was  promoted  to  the  command  of  a  brigade,  and 
then  of  a  division.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  1)attle  of 
Spottsylvania,  and  was  soon  commissioned  as  a  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral. For  gallantry  in  recapturing  Fort  Steadman  in  1865,  he 
was  brevetted  Major-General.  Prof.  W.  J.  Wells,  of  Norris- 
town,  who  served  in  the  war  with  ( iencral   Hartranft,  has  elo- 

148 


HARTRANFTS    ADMINISTRATION 

quently  described  liis  superb  quaHties  as  a  soldier  in  tbe  followinf^ 
beautiful  lani^"uag'e: 

"The  first  time  I  saw  Colonel  Hartranft,  for  he  was  then  a 
Colonel,  was  when,  down  on  the  coast  of  North  Carolina  upon 
Hatteras  Island,  the  regiment  to  which  I  belonged  was  separated 
from  the  entire  army  upon  that  bleak  and  barren  shore.  When 
the  flotilla  came  down  under  General  Burnside  for  the  purpose 
of  establishing  the  Union  army  upon  the  coast  of  North  Caro- 
lina, the  General,  or  the  Colonel  at  that  time,  rode  into  our  camp, 
and  from  that  moment,  when  I  saw  him  sitting  superbly  upon  his 
noble  steed  (and  all  know  how  grandly  he  sat  on  that  steed)  I 
have  loved  him.  I  was  eager  at  that  time  to  inquire  who  he  was. 
How  many  a  time  after  that  did  I  see  him  at  the  head  of  that  gal- 
lant regiment  in  front  of  his  colors,  sweeping  down  upon  the 
enemy  of  his  country  and  gallantly  performing  the  duties  as- 
signed him !  He  was  no  l)raggart ;  he  was  no  boasting  soldier ; 
he  was  quiet  and  unassuming.  I  saw  him  at  the  battle  of  Bull 
Run,  the  second,  ride  at  the  head  of  that  brigade,  covering  the 
retreat  from  that  disastrous  field.  I  heard  his  ringing  voice  to 
his  men,  'Steady,  steady;  we  are  not  yet  retreating;  we  are 
merely  changing  position.'  I  saw  him  again  at  Chantilly  but  a 
few  days  afterward,  when  those  two  gallant  soldiers,  the  brave 
Phil.  Kearney,  the  one-armed  hero  of  the  Potomac  army,  and  the 
brave  Stevens  fell.  There,  too,  our  gallant  soldier  and  towns- 
man rescued  the  army  from  impending  doom.  I  saw  him  again 
at  Antietam  after  two  brigades  had  failed  to  take  the  bridge;  I 
saw  him  file  out  of  the  woods  on  to  the  bridge  with  his  command, 
and  at  its  head  (for  it  was  a  narrow  bridge),  and  as  he  was 
pressing  forward  and  it  was  being  swept  with  shot,  shell  and 
bullet,  he  bowed  his  head  to  the  storm  and  shouted,  'Follow  me, 
boys !'  I  see  him  sweep  away  on  the  hillside.  I  see  his  gallant 
front  face  the  enemy  upon  the  ridge,  and  when  out  of  ammuni- 
tion, the  48th  advanced  to  relieve  him.  There  it  was  that  the 
gallant  Hartranft  said  to  Colonel  Siegfried,  'Never  mind,  Col- 

149 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

onel,  we  have  but  one  round  of  ammunition  left,  but  if  they 
come  too  close  we  will  give  them  the  cold  steel.'  That  was  the 
material  of  which  our  gallant  soldier  was  made.  I  saw  him 
again  at  Knoxville.  Our  pickets  had  been  driven  in  during  the 
night,  and  the  next  morning  he  came  out,  and  again  at  the  front 
of  the  brigade  he  swept  them  back  and  re-established  the  Union 
line.  I  saw  him  again  at  Fort  Steadman,  where  he  performed 
the  greatest  and  most  gallant  deed  performed  probably  by  any 
single  division  commander  in  the  history  of  the  war,  when  he 
went  in  with  a  division  of  troops  never  yet  under  fire  and  con- 
quered one  of  the  best  soldiers  in  the  Confederate  army." 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  General  Hartranft  declined 
a  command  in  the  regular  army,  having  decided  to  return  to  his 
native  county.  He  was  immediately  called  into  the  service  of 
the  State,  however,  being  elected  in  1865  to  the  office  of  Auditor- 
General,  a  position  which  he  held  for  two  terms.  Governor 
Hartranft's  administration  of  six  years  covered  an  eventful 
period  in  the  history  of  the  Commonwealth.  Among  many  sub- 
jects of  popular  interest,  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1873, 
no  doubt,  occupies  the  chief  place.  There  has  been  no  change  in 
the  organic  law  of  the  State  since  the  adoption  of  the  constitution 
of  1838,  with  the  exception  of  an  amendment  in  1850,  making  all 
the  judges  of  the  courts  elective.  Again,  in  1857,  the  constitu- 
tion was  amended,  creating  a  Sinking  Fund,  and  regulating  the 
public  debt  and  legislative  districts;  while  the  last  amendments 
were  those  of  1864,  conferring  the  right  of  suffrage  upon  those 
engaged  in  the  military  service  of  the  State  or  Nation,  and  im- 
posing various  restraints  on  the  power  of  the  legislature.  Ever 
since  the  constitution  of  1838  went  into  effect,  the  State  was 
menaced  with  the  vicious  results  of  special  legislation.  The 
governors  had  complained  of  the  evil  from  time  to  time,  in  their 
messages  to  the  legislature;  but  nothing  definite  was  accomplished 
to  bring  relief  until  1871.  In  his  annual  message  to  the  legisla- 
ture of  that  year,  Governor  Geary  called  attention  to  the  chief 

150 


HART  RAN  FT' S    ADMINISTRATION 

defects  in  the  constitution.  The  Governor  said :  "Practically, 
the  whole  theory  of  our  constitution  and  g-overnment  is  sub- 
verted and  destroyed  by  the  present  system  of  local  enactments. 
Representative  government  is  based  on  the  idea  that  the  laws 
shall  be  framed  by,  and  be  the  result  of,  the  collective  wisdom  of 
the  people's  representatives.  But  what  are  the  actual  facts? 
The  minds  and  efforts  of  the  members  are  so  wholly  absorbed  by 


Old  Court  House,   Lancaster 

Seat  of  the  State  government  from  1799  to 
1812;  building  erected  1784-1787.  Reproduced 
especially  for  this  work  from  an  old  engraving 

private  and  local  bills  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  a  general 
or  public  act  considered  or  passed.  The  special  and  local  bills 
are  usually  drawn  by  the  members  representing  the  locality,  or 
by  some  one  from  the  district  interested  in  the  proposed  law. 
By  what  is  called  courtesy,  it  is  considered  a  breach  of  etiquette 
for  any  member  of  the  Senate  or  House  to  interfere  with  or 
oppose  a  merely  private  or  local  bill  of  any  other  member.  The 
result  is  the  bills  are  passed  as  originally  prepared,  without 
examination  or  comparison  of  veiws — often  crude  and  ill-di- 
gested,  and    without   regard   to   constitutional   requirements   or 


151 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

sound  public  policy.  Some  of  the  worst  of  these  hasty  and 
badly  considered  enactments  are  arrested  every  year  by  executive 
interposition ;  but  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  the  veto  at  best  can 
only  be  made  a  partial  restraint  upon  the  evil,  and  nothing  can 
eradicate  it  short  of  constitutional  prohibition." 

Following  the  suggestions  of  Governor  Geary,  the  legislature 
on  June  2,  1871,  passed  a  resolution  to  submit  the  question  of 
calling  a  convention  to  amend  the  constitution  to  a  vote  of  the 
people  at  the  next  general  election  on  the  second  Tuesday  of 
October  in  that  year.  At  this  election,  the  vote  in  favor  of  hold- 
ing a  constitutional  convention  was  316,097,  to  69,715  against 
the  measure.  This  was  followed  by  the  act  of  the  legislature 
on  April  11,  1872,  making  detailed  provisions  for  calling  the 
convention.  The  delegates  were  to  be  elected  on  the  second 
Tuesday  of  October,  1872,  and  in  order  to  remove  all  political 
bias  in  the  choice  of  the  same,  the  principle  of  minority  represen- 
tation was  followed. 

The  delegates,  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  in  number, 
assembled  in  convention  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, Harrisburg,  on  November  12,  1872,  Hon.  William  M. 
Meredith  was  elected  President  of  the  Convention,  and  served 
until  his  death,  August  17,  1873,  when  Hon.  John  H.  Walker, 
of  Erie  county,  was  chosen,  on  September  16  of  that  year,  to  suc- 
ceed him.  After  completing  the  work  of  organization,  the  Con- 
vention, on  November  27,  adjourned  to  meet  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  on  January  7,  1873.  Here  a  new  constitution  was 
drafted  and  adopted,  after  which  it  was  submitted  to  the  people 
on  December  16,  1873,  and  approved  by  a  vote  of  263,560  to 
109,198. 

The  Constitution  of  1873  presents  many  new  features  which 
will  now  be  considered  at  length.  Meml>ers  of  the  vState  Senate 
are  to  be  elected  for  four  years  instead  of  three,  and  of  the  House 
for  two  years  instead  of  one.  The  sessions  of  the  legislature  are 
biennial  instead  of  annual ;    but  the  Governor  may  convene  the 

152 


HAR TRANFTS    ADMINISTRATION 

two  Houses  upon  extraordinary  occasions,  and  the  Senate  alone 
for  the  transaction  of  executive  business.  There  is  also  an  in- 
crease in  the  membership  of  both  branches  of  the  legislature. 
One  of  the  most  important  changes  in  the  legislative  department 
is  the  prohibition  of  special  and  local  legislation.  There  are 
thirty-three  sections  in  this  article,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  ele- 
vate the  general  character  of  the  laws.  The  Governor's  term  of 
office  is  increased  to  four  years  so  as  to  correspond  with  the  change 
made  in  the  legislative  terms  and  sessions.  The  office  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor is  created,  whose  duty  it  is  to  preside  o\-er  the 
Senate,  and  to  act  as  Governor  in  case  of  the  death,  incapacity  or 
removal  of  that  official.  The  Governor  is  not  eligible  to  the  office 
for  the  next  succeeding  term.  Several  changes  are  made  in  the 
tenure  and  mode  of  electing  the  judges  of  the  courts.  In  the 
qualifications  for  voting,  the  word  "white"  is  dropped,  and  the 
right  to  vote  is  extended  to  every  male  citizen,  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  who  shall  possess  United  States  citizenship  for  one  month, 
residence  in  the  election  district  for  two  months,  residence  in  the 
State  for  one  year,  and  who  shall  have  paid  a  State  or  county  tax 
one  month  before  election.  General  elections  are  fixed  on  the 
Tuesday  next  following  the  first  Monday  of  November,  so  as  to 
correspond  with  the  date  of  the  Presidential  and  Congressional 
elections;  while  local  elections  are  held  on  the  thinl  Tuesday  in 
February.  The  constitution  provides  against  an  increase  of  the 
State  debt,  and  limitations  are  set  upon  the  creation  of  debts  by 
municipalities.  Taxation  is  to  be  equal  upon  all  property  of  the 
same  class,  while  the  property  exempt  from  taxation  is  carefully 
defined.  Many  important  regulations  are  introduced  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  counties,  and  the  terms  of  all  county  officers  are  fixed 
at  three  years.  Provision  is  made  for  the  incorporation  of  cities 
containing  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  upon  demand  of  the  people 
thereof;  also,  that  every  city  must  establish  a  sinking  fund  for 
the  payment  of  its  debts.  The  article  on  private  corporations  is 
almost  entirely  new.     Corporations  are  to  be  confined  to  the  busi- 

153 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

ness  for  which  they  were  esta1)Hshed,  and  their  charters  may  be 
repealed  when  piibHc  interest  shall  demand  it.  The  article  on 
railroads  and  canals  introduces  the  student  to  a  new  subject  in 
State  constitutional  history.  It  illustrates  the  fact,  also,  that  the 
constitutions  of  the  Commonwealths  are  growing  in  length  with 
the  development  of  various  business  interests.  The  principal  fea- 
ture of  this  article  is  the  strict  limitation  placed  upon  railroads 
and  other  transportation  companies  in  regard  to  discriminations 
in  favor  of  certain  individuals.  As  any  synopsis  of  the  new  con- 
stitution would  give  but  an  imperfect  view  of  its  contents,  the 
student  of  history  is  referred  to  that  document  for  a  more  detailed 
examination  of  the  new  organic  law  of  the  State. 

The  constitution  took  effect  on  January  i,  1874,  and  on  the 
seventh  of  that  month  Governor  Hartranft  referred  to  it  at  length 
in  his  message  to  the  legislature.  He  took  occasion  to  make  some 
wise  observations  on  the  true  source  and  nature  of  good  govern- 
ment. He  said :  "As  each  day's  experience  reveals  the  methods 
of  administration,  the  conviction  grows  stronger  in  my  mind  that 
good  government  depends  not  so  much  upon  written  laws  as  upon 
the  disposition  of  the  people  to  comply  with  the  demands  of  the 
laws,  and  the  determination  of  those  delegated  to  execute  them 
to  see  that  their  mandates  are  enforced.  Reform,  it  will  be  con- 
ceded, cannot  be  obtained  by  mere  constitutional  enactment,  nor 
by  surrounding  offices  and  trusts  with  additional  restraints.  The 
world's  history  from  the  earliest  ages  has  shown  that  no  code  of 
laws,  however  comprehensive  or  restrictive,  w^ill  evade  man's  in- 
genuity if  bent  upon  overstepping  their  bounds,  and  wise  and  nec- 
essary as  the  provisions  of  the  new  constitution  may  be,  they  will 
never  secure  the  ends  designed  unless  sustained  by  a  strong,  active, 
healthful,  and  intelligent  sentiment  that  will  interest  itself  in  pub- 
lic affairs.  It  will  not  suffice  to  enact  that  integrity  and  fitness 
are  essential  qualifications  for  office,  unless  the  people  see  to  it 
that  none  without  these  qualifications  are  selected.  It  is  tlic  in- 
difference and  inattention  of  electors  to  their  primary  political 

154 


HARTRANFT'S   ADMINISTRATION 

duties,  connected  with  nominations  and  elections,  that  despoil  the 
law  of  its  sanctity,  and  afford  security  to  those  who  wilfully  dis- 
obey its  requirements.  Men  do  not  fulfill  the  obligations  of  citi- 
zenship by  merely  enjoying  the  protection  our  institutions  afford. 
To  perform  his  whole  duty  to  the  State  every  citizen  should  act- 
ively engage  in  political  concerns  when  the  recurring  elections 
invoke  his  attention  and  interference.  In  our  system  of  govern- 
ment every  man  entitled  to  vote  is  invested  with  a  grave  public 
trust,  and  if,  through  indifference  or  neglect,  he  fails  to  discharge 
the  sacred  duties  it  imposes,  he  is  almost  as  culpable  as  the  other 
who  deliberately  violates  the  law.  With  this  new  departure  in 
our  organic  law,  let  there  also  be  an  accompanying  resolution  on 
the  part  of  all  good  citizens  that  they  will  attend  diligently  and 
conscientiously  to  the  selection  of  men  for  office  whose  dignity  of 
character  and  intellect  will  be  an  adequate  guaranty  that  the  new 
constitution  will  be  safe  in  their  keeping." 

The  year  1876,  marking  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of 
American  independence,  was  one  of  great  interest  to  the  people 
of  the  Commonwealth.  For  three  or  four  years  before  this  time, 
a  centennial  celebration  was  the  leading  subject  in  the  public 
mind.  As  early  as  1871,  Governor  Geary  referred  to  this  matter 
in  his  message  to  the  legislature.  He  suggested  that  an  appro- 
priate celebration  be  held  in  Philadelphia.  "There,"  he  said,  "the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  first  promulgated,  and  there 
should  be  the  national  celebration  of  the  one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  nation's  existence."  About  the  same  time,  the  idea 
of  an  international  exposition  was  first  discussed  in  the  news- 
papers. On  March  9,  1871,  Daniel  J.  Morrell,  a  representative 
from  Pennsylvania,  introduced  in  Congress  a  bill  providing  for  an 
exhibition  in  Philadelphia,  which  passed  a  year  later.  In  the 
meantime,  a  committee  of  the  City  Councils  took  up  the  matter, 
and  did  much  to  arouse  popular  interest.  In  the  spring  of  1872, 
the  Centennial  Commission  met  in  Philadelphia,  and  finally  agreed 
that  the  exhibition  should  be  opened  on  April  19,  1876,  and  closed 

155 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

on  October  19,  of  the  same  year.  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
raise  subscriptions,  and  by  February  22,  1873,  the  sum  of  $1,784,- 
320  had  been  pledged.  On  March  27,  of  the  same  year,  the  legis- 
lature of  Pennsylvania  appropriated  one  million  dollars  to  the 
proposed  exhibition,  and  thus  its  success  was  assured.  On  March 
16,  1874,  it  was  decided  that  the  construction  of  the  necessary 
buildings  should  begin  at  once,  and  on  July  4  ground  was  broken 
for  this  purpose  at  Lansdowne,  Fairmount  Park.  In  all,  there 
were  about  180  buildings  erected  within  the  Centennial  grounds, 
five  of  which  were  great  structures,  in  which  were  placed  the  vast 
displays.  Governor  Hartranft  issued  a  proclamation,  designating 
September  28  as  "Pennsylvania  day."  This  was  the  most  notable 
day  of  the  whole  exhibition,  the  attendance  reaching  275,000  peo- 
ple. The  Centennial  produced  many  good  effects  throughout  the 
State  and  nation.  A  new  impetus  was  given  to  trade  and  com- 
merce; while  nowhere  was  the  influence  so  pronounced  as  in  the 
work  of  education. 

The  good  times  which  followed  the  Civil  War  were  in  a  few 
years  succeeded  by  financial  depression  that  extended  over  the 
whole  country,  and  reduced  many  great  commercial  establish- 
'ments  to  ruin.  These  financial  troubles  began  in  Philadelphia, 
in  1873,  with  the  failure  of  the  banking  house  of  Jay  Cooke  and 
Company.  Mr.  Cooke's  bank  gave  material  aid  to  the  United 
States  government  during  the  Civil  War;  hence  he  was  often 
called  the  "Financier  of  the  Rebellion."  After  the  war,  his  house 
became  the  fiscal  agent  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  company. 
Finally  becoming  involved,  Mr.  Cooke's  estalilishment  went  into 
bankruptcy  on  September  18,  1873.  Then  followed  a  run  on  the 
other  lianks,  the  effects  of  which  were  soon  felt  throughout  the 
United  States.  The  State  of  Pennsylvania  suffered  considerable 
loss  from  the  operations  of  the  panic.  In  1874,  the  receipts  from 
all  sources  were  $1,500,000  less  than  the  preceding  year;  yet  by 
a  rigid  economy,  the  public  expenditures  were  kept  within  the 
limits  of  the  revenues. 

156 


HAR TRANFTS    ADMINISTRATION 

The  condition  of  the  times  was  rendered  more  deplorable  by 
a  series  of  labor  difficulties,  extending  from  1874  to  1877.  In 
1874,  there  was  a  conflict  in  Westmoreland  county  between  the 
Italian  and  resident  miners,  in  which  four  of  the  Italians  were 
killed.  The  same  year,  there  was  a  railroad  strike  at  Susque- 
hanna on  the  New  York  and  Erie  railroad.  A  number  of  trains 
were  seized  by  the  mob,  and  order  was  not  restored  until  after 
the  Governor  had  sent  the  State  militia  into  that  region.  In 
January,  1875,  the  miners  of  the  Lehigh  and  Schuylkill  regions 
began  a  strike,  which  lasted  six  months.  There  was  but  little 
violence;  yet  the  (Governor  found  it  necessary  to  order  the  militia 
to  the  scene  of  the  disturbance. 

In  1877,  the  spirit  of  lawlessness  increased,  culminating  in  a 
series  of  destructive  riots  in  different  parts  of  the  State.  The 
cause  of  all  this  trouble  was  the  railroad  strike,  which  began  on 
July  16,  and  soon  became  general  throughout  the  United  States. 
In  the  beginning  of  July,  a  circular  was  issued  from  the  offices  of 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad,  announcing  a  reduction  of  ten 
per  cent,  from  the  wages  which  the  employes  were  then  receiving. 
A  new  schedule  of  wages  was  announced,  to  take  effect  on  July 
16.  At  all  points  along  the  railroad  there  were  demonstrations 
against  this  reduction.  A  strike  was  ordered,  and  before  mid- 
night of  the  sixteenth  the  immense  property  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  was  in  the  hands  of  rioters.  On  July  19,  the  employees  of 
the  Pennsylvania  railroad  at  Pittsburg  inaugurated  a  strike,  and 
stopped  the  passage  of  all  freight  trains  east  and  west.  By  the 
evening  of  the  twentieth  a  large  number  of  freight  trains  were 
tied  up  in  that  city.  The  striking  workmen  resisted  all  efforts  of 
the  railroad  officials  to  move  these  trains,  and  threatened  acts  of 
violence.  At  this  time,  Governor  Hartranft  was  on  a  trip  across 
the  continent;  but  upon  the  call  of  the  sheriff,  the  Adjutant- 
General  ordered  the  sixth  division  of  the  National  Guard  to  assist 
in  restoring  order.  The  Adjutant-General  arrived  at  Pittsburg 
on  July  21  to  take  personal  charge  of  all  the  troops  ordered  out. 

159 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

The  first  division  of  the  National  Guard  was  also  called  into  serv- 
ice, and  on  the  forenoon  of  the  twenty-first  the  troops  took  posi- 
tion upon  the  hill  overlooking  the  tracks  at  Twenty-eighth  street. 
At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  troops  from  Philadelphia  ar- 
rived, and  they  at  once  proceeded  to  open  the  road.  As  they 
approached  Twenty-eighth  street  the  crowds  pressed  in  upon  them 
and  stones  were  thrown  by  the  mob.  There  was  considerable  firing 
on  both  sides,  and  in  the  melee  twenty  soldiers  were  wounded. 
In  the  evening  the  soldiers  withdrew  to  the  round-houses  and 
adjacent  buildings.  At  midnight  the  rioters  determined  to  drive 
them  out  by  burning  the  freight  cars  in  the  vicinity.  The  result 
V\'as  a  great  conflagration  in  which  vast  quantities  of  freight  were 
consumed  and  all  the  rolling  stock  and  buildings  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania railroad  at  Pittsburg  were  destroyed.  Hastening  from  his 
western  trip,  Governor  Hartranft  reached  Pittsburg  on  July  24. 
After  a  consultation  with  the  leading  citizens,  he  went  to  Phila- 
delphia to  confer  with  Generals  Hancock  and  Schofield,  of  the 
United  States  army.  Arrangements  were  made  to  forward  a 
detachment  of  the  regular  army  to  Pittsburg,  there  to  join  the 
State  troops  which  the  Governor  collected  on  the  way.  A  large 
force  was  soon  gathered  at  the  scene  of  disturbance;  and  with 
Governor  Hartranft  in  personal  command,  order  was  restored  in 
a  few  days  and  railroad  communications  were  opened  with  all 
parts  of  the  country.  In  the  meantime,  there  were  serious  riots 
in  other  sections  of  the  State.  The  lawless  spirit  in  Philadelphia 
and  Harrisburg  was  quelled  by  the  prompt  action  of  the  officials ; 
but  in  Reading  the  work  of  destruction  almost  equalled  that  in 
Pittsburg.  The  railroad  bridge  over  the  Schuylkill  was  burned, 
and  the  mob  practically  controlled  the  city.  As  the  authorities  of 
Berks  county  were  unable  to  suppress  the  riot,  General  Reeder 
was  sent  there  with  a  division  of  the  National  Guard.  On  the 
evening  of  July  23  there  was  a  severe  street  fight  between  the 
mob  and  the  soldiers,  in  which  some  of  the  latter  were  wounded, 
while  eleven  of  the  crowd  were  killed.     The  next  day  a  detach- 

160 


€«/',f  >■>,/■/' ■■^^'f  '^^'- .  '^^■"■'i^y/'^y».u  >■/,■//, .?,^.^/;-^./4*./,->y-.  -&;'.:.  ''y'"--'  /•>■<?; 


HAR TRANFTS    ADMINISTRATION 

ment  of  United  States  troops  arrived,  and  the  railroad  was  opened 
to  traffic. 

The  contagion  of  lawlessness  affected  the  miners  of  Luzerne 
county,  and  on  July  25  they  began  a  general  strike.  All  railroad 
traffic  was  suspended  in  that  region,  and  at  Scranton  the  rioters 
attempted  to  drive  the  workmen  from  the  shops.  The  sheriff 
with  a  number  of  aids  dispersed  the  crowd ;  but  he  was  seriously 
wounded  and  three  of  the  mob  were  killed.  As  the  conditions 
became  more  threatening,  it  was  necessary  to  forward  a  division 
of  the  National  Guard  to  the  coal  regions.  Early  in  August  all 
disorder  was  suppressed,  and  in  a  few  weeks  all  the  railroads  in 
the  State  were  running  trains  on  schedule  time.  In  referring  to 
the  general  causes  and  results  of  the  strike,  Governor  Hartranft 
said  in  his  message  of  1878:  "While  capital  held  labor  in  ignor- 
ance and  bondage,  strikes  were  rare.  Their  frequent  occurrence 
is  a  proof  that  labor  is  growing,  more  and  more,  to  an  equality 
in  strength  and  importance  to  capital.  Intelligence  has  spread 
itself  among  the  laboring  classes;  they  have  learned  to  read  and 
write,  and  to  interchange  their  views,  and  formed  associations, 
according  to  their  new  lights,  for  their  protection  and  advance- 
ment. And  if  in  this,  as  in  many  other  cases,  '3.  little  learning  is 
a  dangerous  thing,'  it  is  yet  better  than  no  learning  at  all,  and  is 
the  progressive  step  to  higher  intelligence.  On  the  other  hand, 
under  the  influence  of  civilization,  wealth  became  more  and  more 
diffused,  and  corporations  grew  up  to  collect  the  large  and  small 
amounts  of  unemployed  capital,  to  build  the  gigantic  works  and 
conduct  the  great  industries  required  by  modern  society.  These 
two  results  are  the  inevitable  consequences  of  increased  intelli- 
gence and  civilization.  These  great  corporations,  from  the  char- 
acter of  the  enterprises,  are  of  necessity,  in  most  cases,  monop- 
olies. As  such,  the  people  have  a  right  to  demand  that  while  the 
profits  may  accrue  to  private  individuals,  their  management  shall 
rise  above  merely  selfish  aims,  and  consult  also  the  public  utility 
and  welfare.     It  has  come  to  pass  that  in  the  conflict  between 

3-11  161 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

capital  and  labor,  the  former  is  almost  wholly  represented  by  cor- 
porations, and  the  latter  by  various  organizations.  ...  In 
these  facts,  we  can  discern  the  two  roads  that  may  eventually  lead 
to  the  final  settlement  of  the  contest — the  diffusion  of  higher  edu- 
cation among  the  workingmen,  and  the  conviction,  on  the  part  of 
capital,  that  it  has  now  to  deal  with  an  equal  competitor,  whose 
claims  and  rights,  together  with  his  own,  must  be  decided  and 
adjusted  by  arbitration."^ 

As  early  as  1870,  Governor  Geary  had  urged  upon  the  legis- 
lature the  necessity  of  making  provision  for  a  geological  survey 
of  the  State.  The  matter  was  delayed  until  1874,  when  a  bill 
was  passed  authorizing  the  Governor  to  appoint  a  board  of  ten 
scientific  gentlemen  who  were  to  be  entrusted  with  the  selection 
of  a  geologist.  Such  a  person  was  appointed  in  June,  1874,  and 
the  work  at  once  progressed  with  great  satisfaction.  During  the 
first  year,  examinations  were  made  of  the  iron  ores  and  roofing 
slates  of  York,  Adams,  Lehigh,  and  Northampton  counties;  the 
fossil  iron  ore  belt  of  the  Juniata  valley;  the  bituminous  coal 
basins  of  Clearfield  and  Jefferson  counties,  and  the  oil  regions  of 
Venango  county.  The  work  has  been  vigorously  pushed  from 
year  to  year,  and  interesting  reports  have  been  regularly  pub- 
lished, thus  forming  valuable  contributions  to  scientific  literature. 

In  several  of  his  messages  Governor  Hartranft  emphasized 
the  necessity  of  fixing  proper  limitations  to  the  powers  conferred 
on  State  banks,  saving  funds  and  trust  companies.  Besides  one 
hundred  and  ninety-nine  national  banks,  we  had  in  1874  one 
hundred  and  seventeen  State  banks  and  trust  companies.  Many 
of  the  State  institutions  performed  the  functions  of  a  saving  fund, 
a  trust  company,  an  insurance  company,  with  powers  also  to  buy 
and  sell  real  estate,  and  to  act  as  a  building  association.  In  many 
instances,  these  banks  had  a  small  capital,  and,  therefore,  offered 
but  little  security  to  the  depositors.     In  his  message  of  1875  the 

'  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Fourth  Series, 
vol.  9,  p.  596. 

162 


HARTRANFTS   ADMINISTRATION 

(Governor  urged  the  enactment  of  a  general  law,  requiring  all 
banks  to  have  at  least  $50,000  capital  and  subjecting  them  to  fre- 
(|uent  examinations.  In  1876,  the  legislature  passed  a  banking- 
law,  embodying  some  of  the  Governor's  suggestions ;  but  still  he 
claimed  that  the  measure  was  not  as  comprehensive  as  it  should 
Ije.  In  his  message  of  1878  he  favored  the  creation  of  a  depart- 
ment of  banking,  headed  by  a  commissioner,  with  duties  similar 
to  those  of  the  Insurance  Commissioner,  who  would  regularly 
make  an  examination  of  the  banks  of  the  State  and  report  their 
condition.  In  1878  a  bill  to  that  effect  passed  the  Senate,  but 
was  defeated  in  the  House.  In  1893  a  law  was  enacted  providing 
for  the  organization  of  a  banking  department,  and  it  is  now  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  most  important  administrative  offices  of  the 
State. 

During  Hartranft's  administration  the  schools  of  the  State 
continued  to  make  satisfactory  progress ;  but  one  of  the  greatest 
defects  was  the  lack  of  properly  trained  teachers.  In  the  year 
1874,  of  the  15,003  teachers  receiving  certificates,  only  374  were 
found  to  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  common  branches. 
Governor  Hartranft's  references  to  the  schools  in  his  messages 
form  interesting  contributions  to  educational  literature.  In  1874 
and  1875,  he  presented  strong  arguments  to  the  legislature  in 
behalf  of  compulsory  education.  He  said :  "The  lesson  of  the 
common  school  is  love  of  country  and  obedience  to  authority. 
Can  the  time  and  attention  of  those  entrusted  with  government 
be  employed  upon  a  subject  more  vital  to  the  interests  of  society 
than  to  secure  the  education  of  every  child  within  the  operation 
of  its  laws?  and  I  sincerely  trust  that  from  the  wisdom  of  the 
legislature  will  be  evolved  some  plan  that  will  at  least  gather  the 
neglected  children  of  the  Commonwealth  into  institutions  where, 
jointly  with  the  contributions  of  charitable  people,  she  can  pro- 
vide for  their  maintenance  and  instruction."  The  Governor  was 
likewise  strongly  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  providing  in- 
dustrial education  for  the  children  of  the  State.     He  realized  that 

163 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

mechanical  genius  would  be  required  to  develop  the  great  re- 
sources of  Pennsylvania;  hence  also  an  ever  increasing  demand 
for  labor  of  the  highest  skill.  "It  is  to  our  mineral  wealth  and 
manufactures,"  the  Governor  said,  "we  mainly  owe  our  riches, 
power,  and  the  advantages  we  possess  as  a  State,  and  in  our  mines, 
furnaces,  forges,  rolling  mills,  locomotive  works,  and  the  myriads 
of  factories,  wherein  her  products  are  formed  for  use,  trained 
hands  and  minds  are  always  wanted.  Can  they  be  found  among 
our  own  people?  Reasonable  and  just  complaint  is  made  of  the 
want  of  skilled  labor  in  our  midst,  and  the  constant  recourse  had 
to  foreign  countries  to  supply  this  pressing  need.  In  our  great 
iron  and  other  industries,  and  wherever  skilled  labor  is  required, 
the  greatest  number  of  those  employed  have  acquired  their  ex- 
perience in  Europe,  or  the  Eastern  States.  Is  it  not  time  for 
Pennsylvania  to  absolve  herself  from  this  dependence,  that  im- 
poses upon  many  of  her  sons  the  condition  of  common  laborers, 
at  the  bidding  of  overseers  from  without  the  State?"  The  Gov- 
ernor wished  to  see  industrial  and  scientific  schools  established 
by  the  side  of  the  high  schools  and  academies,  such  as  those  now 
existing  in  our  larger  universities.  He  hoped  that  the  common 
school  system  would  receive  a  symmetrical  development  in  har- 
mony with  the  industrial  age  and  the  great  resources  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

A  soldier  himself,  the  Governor  devoted  much  attention  to 
the  subject  of  the  militia,  and  the  fine  organization  of  the  Na- 
tional Guard  is  largely  due  to  his  personal  efforts.  The  desire  of 
the  administration  was  to  form  a  small,  compact,  and  efficient 
body  of  troops.  In  1872,  the  militia  consisted  of  twenty-one 
divisions,  with  three  hundred  and  twenty-three  companies,  com- 
prising 1,126  commissioned  officers  and  13,566  enlisted  men. 
In  1879  there  was  one  division  divided  into  flye  brigades,  com- 
prising one  hundred  and  forty  companies  of  infantry,  five  cav- 
alry companies,  and  four  batteries  of  artillery.  At  the  same 
time  there  were  608  commissioned  officers  and  8,200  enlisted 

164 


HARTRANFTS   ADMINISTRATION 

men.  This  organization  has  continued  with  a  few  modifica- 
tions, and  the  National  Guard  has  always  shown  a  fine  spirit, 
with  the  best  discipline,  and  constant  readiness  for  public  duty. 

On  December  19,  1878,  Bayard  Taylor  died  in  the  city  of 
Berlin,  while  serving  at  his  post  as  minister  to  Germany.  He 
was  a  native  of  Chester  county,  and  through  his  literary  works 
had  done  much  to  increase  the  fame  of  Pennsylvania.  His 
death  called  forth  appropriate  resolutions  in  the  State  Senate, 
and  Hon.  James  B.  Everhart,  a  member  of  that  Ijody  from 
Chester  county,  delivered  a  beautiful  eulogy  in  memory  of  his 
deceased  friend. 

In  November,  1878,  occurred  the  election  for  Governor  of  the 
State.  The  Republicans  nominated  Henry  M.  Hoyt,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  while  the  Democratic  standard  bearer  was  Andrew  H. 
Dill,  of  Lewisburg.  The  campaign  was  conducted  along  the 
line  of  national  issues,  the  leading  discussion  being  the  resump- 
tion of  specie  payments.  Many  Republicans  thought  their 
candidate  could  not  be  elected  on  a  hard  money  platform ;  but 
Mr.  Hoyt  declared :  "Professing  to  be  an  honest  man,  and  the 
candidate  of  an  honest  party,  I  believe  in  honest  money."  This 
became  the  keynote  of  the  campaign,  and  he  was  elected  by  a 
large  majority. 

Upon  the  expiration  of  his  term,  in  January,  1879,  Governor 
Hartranft  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  served  as  post- 
master of  the  city,  and  afterwards  as  Collector  of  the  Port.  His 
love  for  the  National  Guard  continued,  and  he  was  the  command- 
ing general  from  1879  i-^ntil  his  death  on  October  17,  1889.  His 
memory  as  a  soldier  is  perpetuated  by  an  equestrian  statue  on  the 
Capitol  Hill,  Harrisburg,  and  by  a  beautiful  monument  in  the 
cemetery  at  Norristown. 


165 


CHAPTER  VII. 
HOYT'S  AND  PATTISON'S  ADMINISTRATIONS— 1879-1887 

HENRY  MARTYN  HOYT,  the  new  Governor,  was  in- 
augurated for  a  term  of  four  years,  on  January  21,  1879. 
This  was  in  accordance  with  the  provision  in  the  schedule 
of  the  new  constitution :  "The  first  election  of  Governor  under 
this  constitution  shall  be  at  the  general  election  in  the  year  one 
thousand  eight  hunderd  and  seventy-five,  when  a  Governor  shall 
be  elected  for  three  years;  and  the  term  of  the  Governor  elected 
in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-eight  and  of 
those  thereafter  elected  shall  be  for  four  years,  according  to  the 
provisions  of  this  Constitution."  On  January  7,  of  the  same 
year,  the  legislature  met  in  biennial  session  for  the  first  time,  as 
provided  in  the  new  Constitution. 

Governor  Hoyt  was  born  at  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  in  1830. 
He  received  a  fine  classical  education,  preparing  for  college  at 
the  Wyoming  Seminary,  and  graduating  at  Williams  College  in 
1849.  He  then  spent  several  years  in  the  profession  of  teaching. 
Finally  he  began  the  study  of  law,  and  in  1853  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  Luzerne  county.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  he 
promptly  offered  his  services  to  the  country.  He  assisted  in 
organizing  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  of  which 
he  was  made  Colonel.  His  regiment  took  part  in  many  impor- 
tant engagements.  In  1864,  Colonel  Hoyt,  with  one  hundred 
and  twenty  men,  was  captured  in  a  night  attack  upon  Fort  John- 
son, at  Charleston.     He  succeeded  in  esca])ing.  but  he  was  re- 

166 


IIOYTS   &  PATTISON'S  ADMINISTRATIONS 

captured  by  the  aid  of  bloodhounds.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he 
was  exchanged,  when  he  rejoined  his  regiment,  and  was 
mustered  out  with  the  brevet  of  Brigadier-General.  Returning 
home,  he  at  once  resumed  the  practice  of  law.  In  1867  he  was 
appointed  by  Governor  Geary  as  Additional  Law  Judge  of 
Luzerne  county;  but  two  years  later  he  resigned  this  office  and 
became  Collector  of  Liternal  Revenue  for  the  counties  of  Luzerne 
and  Susquehanna.  He  was  always  active  in  political  affairs,  and 
in  1875  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Committee. 
\yhen  Governor  Hoyt's  administration  began,  the  country 
was  still  suffering  from  the  effects  of  financial  depression  and  the 
conflict  between  capital  and  labor.  Li  his  inaugural  address, 
the  Governor  reminded  the  people  that  the  late  troubles  were 
largely  due  to  extravagance.  He  said :  "We  have  come,  with 
great  unanimity,  to  recognize  the  actual  facts  which  lie  at  the 
bottom  of  this  whole  subject.  A  generation  of  younger  business 
men  had  come  upon  the  stage  at  a  period  of  excitement,  following 
the  war,  and  of  speculation,  fairly  reaching  the  degree  of  gam- 
bling. The  vastly  expanded  credit  which  men  gave,  one  to 
another,  in  all  forms  of  business,  the  result  of  an  inflated  cur- 
rency, led  to  unnatural  values,  as  measured  in  such  currency. 
The  temptations  for  contracting  debts  were  great,  and  not  easily 
resisted.  We  spent  more  than  we  earned ;  we  forgot  that  'the 
extravagance  of  the  rich  was  not  the  gain  of  the  poor' — 'that 
profusion  and  waste  were  not  for  the  good  of  trade' — and  that 
everything  consumed  and  destroyed  was  so  much  lost  in  the 
labor  which  had  produced  it.  Circulating  capital  was  locked  up 
in  fixed  property.  The  wages-fund  was  impaired.  We  aban- 
doned the  maxims  of  experience  and  the  simplest  truths  in 
political  economy.  We  measured  values  by  a  standard  not  com- 
mon to  the  civilized  world  with  whom  we  were  in  daily  and 
necessary  commercial  intercourse.  We  failed  to  remember  that 
the  issue  of  paper  money,  whether  greenbacks,  national  bank 
notes,  l)ills  of   exchange,  or   checks,  did  not  add  a  dollar  to  the 

167 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

wealth  of  the  nation,  and  that  while  indispensable  as  a  circulating" 
medium,  it  could  only  have  a  representative  value.  We  did  not 
advert  sufficiently  to  the  present  physical  and  financial  fact,  that 
by  the  tacit  agreement  of  the  nations,  the  precious  metals  are  the 
only  standard  of  value,  the  only  'current  money  with  the  mer- 
chant.' We  did  not  seem  to  know  that  the  instincts  of  a  prac- 
tical, shrewd,  and  enterprising  nation  of  business  men  must 
finally  and  forever  reject  the  use  of  an  irredeemable  currency. 
At  the  last,  pay  day  came,  as  it  always  must,  and  bankruptcy  came 
with  it,  as  it  always  will  under  like  causes.  Our  capacity  to 
consume  was  destroyed.  The  producer  was  without  buyers  for 
his  merchandise.  Debtor  and  creditor  alike  had  to  pause  for  the 
day  of  settlement."^ 

With  the  practice  of  strict  self-denial,  the  people  soon  recov- 
ered from  the  effects  of  the  hard  times.  Following  the  prin- 
ciples of  a  wiser  political  economy,  the  great  resources  of  the 
State  were  applied  to  the  best  uses,  and  prosperity  soon  returned. 
During  the  four  years  of  Hoyt's  administration  the  State  debt 
was  reduced  $1,650,537.58.  Deducting  the  assets  in  the  sink- 
ing fund,  this  left  a  net  indebtedness  of  $12,232,099.46.  In  the 
year  1882  the  finances  of  the  Commonwealth  were  in  an  excellent 
condition,  the  total  revenues  being  $7,068,529.66,  while  the 
expenditures  for  the  same  period  were  $5,024,766.44.  Of  the 
aggregate  revenues  more  than  four  million  dollars  were  derived 
from  taxes  on  corporations ;  so  that  there  was  no  direct  tax  on 
the  people,  except  $437,776.64  on  personal  property. 

By  a  joint  resolution  approved  February  13,  1879,  the  legis- 
lature requested  the  Attorney-General  to  institute  proceedings 
against  several  medical  colleges  in  Philadelphia  for  engaging  in 
the  sale  of  diplomas  to  persons  who  had  not  pursued  the  pre- 
scribed course  of  study,  and  who  were  thus  unfitted  to  practice 
medicine.      In  accordance  with  this  request,   writs  were  issued 

'"Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Fourth  Series, 
vol.  9,  p.  IS7. 

168 


Henry  Miller 


General  in  Revolutionary  war;  member  State 
Constitutional  convention,  1790;  brigadier-gen- 
eral, 1794;  quartermaster-general  in  Whiskey 
Insurrection  expedition;  brigadier-general  in 
the  War  of  1&12 


TTOYT'S   &  PATTISON'S   ADMINISTRATIONS 

against  the  American  University  of  Philadelphia,  the  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Philadelphia  Univer- 
sity of  Medicine  and  Surgery.  Evidence  was  produced  that 
these  institutions  were  selling  diplomas  in  large  numters,  both 
in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  Favorable  judgments  were  ren- 
dered against  these  institutions  and  their  charters  were  declared 
forfeited  by  the  courts.  These  disclosures  finally  led  to  the 
establishment  of  a  State  Medical  Board  for  the  examination  of 
all  physicians  before  entering  on  the  practice  of  medicine. 

For  several  years  frequent  complaints  were  made  against  the 
railroads  of  the  State,  that  they  were  making  discriminations  in 
freight  charges.  Such  discriminations  are  strictly  prohibited  in 
the  Constitution  of  1873,  article  seventeen,  section  three,  declar- 
ing: "All  individuals,  associations  and  corporations  shall  have 
equal  right  to  have  persons  and  property  transported  over  rail- 
roads and  canals,  and  no  undue  or  unreasonable  discrimination 
shall  be  made  in  charges  for,  or  in  facilities  for,  transportation  of 
freight  or  passengers  within  the  State,  or  coming  from  or  going 
to  any  other  State.  Persons  and  property  transported  over  any 
railroad  shall  be  delivered  at  any  station  at  charges  not  exceeding 
the  charges  for  transportation  of  persons  and  property  of  the 
same  class  in  the  same  direction  to  any  more  distant  station ;  but 
excursion  and  commutation  tickets  may  be  issued  at  special  rates." 
Notwithstanding  this  constitutional  prohibition,  in  1878,  a  num- 
ber of  persons  engaged  in  the  production  of  oil  petitioned  the 
State  government,  declaring  that  they  were  subject  to  unjust 
discrimination  in  freights.  This,  they  said,  was  the  result  of 
confederated  action  between  certain  railroads  and  oil  shippers. 
The  Attorney-General  at  once  began  suits  in  equity  in  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  State  against  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  com- 
pany, the  Atlantic  and  Great  Western  Railroad  company,  the  Dun- 
kirk, Allegheny  and  Pittsburg  Railroad  company,  and  the  Lake 
Shore  and  Michigan  Southern  Railway  company.  In  due  time, 
the  cases  came  before  a  master  appointed  to  take  testimony.     The 

171 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

evidence  against  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  company  was  all  heard, 
when  it  was  proposed  that  this  company  alone  should  give  testi- 
mony in  answer.  The  Attorney-General  declined,  however,  to 
order  this  defendant  to  proceed  until  the  Commonwealth  testi- 
mony in  all  the  cases  had  been  heard.  The  result  was  a  long 
delay  in  the  course  of  which  the  petitioners  and  the  railroad  com- 
panies settled  their  controversy  by  private  agreement. 


Q 

t 

HI                   ,^ 

1    fil          .^  m* 

^^^^^^B 

^^^^^B 

11  if!! 

Ill  fsq 

Old  Lantern 

The  illustration  on  the  left  shows  style  first  used 
on  Portage  road;  on  the  right,  the  style  without 
glass  used  by  pioneers.  From  the  originals  in 
Carnegie  Museum,  Pittsburgh 

On  May  i6,  1881,  the  legislature,  by  a  joint  resolution,  re- 
quested the  Governor  to  communicate  with  the  trustees  of  Jor- 
dan's meeting-house,  England,  and  with  the  legal  representatives 
of  William  Penn,  with  a  view  to  transferring  Penn's  remains  to 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  there  to  be  permanently  interred.  George 
L.  Harrison,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  consented  to  personally  carry 
the  message  of  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  to  England.  He  went 
at  his  own  expense,  and  earnestly  sought  to  carry  out  the  wishes 


172 


HOYT'S   &  PJTTISON'S  ADMINISTRATIONS 

expressed  in  the  resolution  of  the  legislature.  After  some  de- 
liberation, the  trustees  of  Jordan's  meeting-house  refused  to  grant 
the  request  of  our  people.  Mr.  Harrison  entered  into  this  project 
with  great  zeal,  and  on  his  return  to  America  published  an  inter- 
esting account  of  the  negotiations. 

In   1882  the  bi-centennial  of  Penn's  arrival  in  the  province 
was  observed  with  fitting  ceremonies.     For  a  number  of  months 
the  authorities  of  Philadelphia  had  the  subject  under  discussion. 
Some  favored  an  industrial  exposition ;  but  it  was  finally  decided 
that  several  days  should  be  devoted  to  parades  and  entertain- 
ments.    A  Bi-Centennial  Association  was  formed,  and  an  execu- 
tive committee  was  appointed,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Alexander 
P.  Colesberry.     On  Sunday,  October  21,  there  were  appropriate 
religious  services  in  the  churches.     On  Monday,  "landing  day" 
at  Chester  was  observed,  when  characters  representing  Penn  and 
his  party  were  received  from  the  boats  by  groups  of  Quakers, 
Swedes  and  Indians,  all  appropriately  dressed.    Tuesday ,'October 
23,  was  ^"landing  day"  in  Philadelphia.     At  9  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing the  "Welcome"  arrived  at  the  foot  of  Dock  street,  where  the 
scenes  of  landing  were  again  enacted.     Passing  up  Dock  street, 
the  line  rested  at  the  Blue  Anchor  Inn.     Here  a  stand  had  been 
erected,  and  Governor  Hoyt  and  members  of  the  Bi-Centennial 
Association  greeted  Penn.     Then  Penn  made  a  speech,  to  which 
Tamanend,  sachem  of  the  Delawares,  made  a  feeling  reply.     A 
parade  followed  with  twenty  thousand  men  in  line,  requiring  four 
hours  and  a  half  to  pass  a  given  point.     The  celebration  ended 
on  Friday  with  a  grand  military  parade  under  the  command  of 
General  John  F.  Hartranft.     All  the  ceremonies  connected  with 
the  bi-centennial  were  dignified  and  impressive.     The  two  hun- 
dred years  of  history  were  recalled  to  the  people  with  a  new  em- 
phasis and  meaning.     It  was  a  glorious  past,  Avith  bright  pros- 
pects for  the  future.     Referring  to  these  festivities,  the  Governor 
said :  "We  are  beginning  the  third  century  of  our  existence  as  a 
state.     The  reminiscences  of  the  hour  are  well  adapted  to  stir 

173 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

within  lis  reflections  upon  the  possibihties  of  organized  society, 
the  secret  of  right  government,  and  the  duties  of  the  free  citizen 
in  the  free  State.  But  thoughts  without  resolution  have  a  sickly 
hue.  Sonorous  phrases  count  for  nothing  alongside  of  quiet  deeds. 
Patient  participation  in  pubHc  affairs  will  do  more  to  redeem  poli- 
tics from  the  spoiler  than  the  sublimest  political  philosophy,  and 
the  intensest  sentiment,  if  never  embodied  in  action," 

The  election  for  Governor  in  1882  was  a  spirited  contest  and 
brought  about  a  political  revolution  in  the  State.  James  A.  Beaver 
was  nominated  by  the  Republicans ;  while  Robert  E.  Pattison  was 
the  Democratic  standard  bearer.  A  strong  element  among  the 
Republicans  was  dissatisfied  with  conditions  in  that  party.  This 
opposition  united  and  nominated  an  Independent  Republican 
ticket,  with  John  Stewart  for  Governor.  The  Greenback-Labor 
movement  also  became  a  factor  in  State  politics,  and  this  party 
nominated  Thomas  A.  Armstrong;  while  the  Prohibitionists 
named  Alfred  C.  Pettit.  With  the  Republican  vote  thus  divided, 
Mr.  Pattison  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  more  than  forty  thou- 
sand. His  campaign  was  a  most  remarkable  one.  In  two  weeks 
he  traveled  fourteen  hundred  miles  and  spoke  in  forty  counties. 

In  his  final  message  to  the  legislature.  Governor  Iloyt  re- 
viewed some  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  Democratic  victory. 
Pie  said:  "In  Pennsylvania  the  people  have  determined  upon  a 
change.  What  does  this  decision  mean  ?  To'  this  question  three 
answers  are  proposed:  one  cynical  and  desperate;  another,  pessi- 
mistic and  hopeless,  and  a  third,  patriotic  and  assuring."  The 
first,  he  thought,  expressed  the  feelings  of  the  professional  poli- 
tician, who  looked  upon  the  change  merely  as  a  turn  in  the  for- 
tunes of  a  game.  The  Governor  denounced  this  class  of  poli- 
ticians, however,  for  he  said :  "They  rely  for  their  success  even 
more  upon  the  apathy  of  the  pure  and  the  intelligent,  than  upon 
the  activity  of  the  selfish  and  unscrupulous."  According  to  the 
second  view,  the  Republican  defeat  was  viewed  by  some  as  a  pub- 
lic spasm  or  convulsion.     This  theory  the  Governor  denounced 

174 


HOYT'S   &  PATTISON'S  ADMINISTRATIONS 

as  implying'  a  lack  of  capacity  for  sclf-g-ovcninicnl.  Tlic  third 
view  he  regarded  as  more  hopeful  and  patriotic.  "According  to 
it,"  he  said,  "this  change  marks  the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch 
in  our  political  life.  Those  who  cherish  it  argue  that  thousands 
of  our  best  citizens,  relieved  of  the  pressure  of  national  anxieties, 
and  unwilling  to  live  forever  in  the  past,  are  beginning  to  study 
the  nature  and  details  of  State  and  municipal  government  as  never 
before;  are  awakening  to  the  business  and  scientific  character  of 
political  problems,  and  have  determined  to  thrust  aside  every  in- 
dividual, and  every  contrivance,  that  stands  between  them  and  the 
management  of  their  own  affairs.  They  will  no  longer  be  content 
with  the  automatic  activity  in  politics ;  they  demand  a  conscious 
share  in  this  noblest  pursuit  of  intelligent  men.  The  people  have 
come  to  claim  their  own,  without  the  intervention  of  middlemen. 
"If  this  view  be  correct,  then  the  occupation  of  the  profes- 
sional politician  is  gone.  He  belongs  to  a  doomed  species;  he 
has  outlived  the  only  environment  adapted  to  his  nourishment, 
and  must  shortly  pass  away.  That  this  is  true  is  indicated  by  our 
lineage,  our  traditions,  and  the  character  of  our  recent  progress. 
We  are  the  descendants  of  men  who  defied  kings  and  parliaments ; 
we  are  the  children  of  men  who  destroyed  the  Congressional  cau- 
cus, and  created  the  national  convention.  Our  citizens  are  meet- 
ing in  their  granges  and  trades-unions,  in  their  industrial  leagues 
and  commercial  guilds,  and  are  becoming  keenly  alive  to  the  every- 
day bearings  of  politics  upon  their  own  and  their  children's  wel- 
fare. Even  the  primary  meeting,  once  treated  as  utterly  beyond 
the  pale  of  law,  the  sport  of  the  juggler  and  the  rogue,  has  become 
the  subject  of  legislative  enactment  and  protection.  Nay  more, 
even  the  promises  of  party  platforms  conform  to  the  quickened 
senses  of  the  people,  and  the  necessity  of  other  and  better  methods 
has  received  a  certain  grave  and  reverential  recognition  in  party 
deliverances."^ 

'  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Fourth  Series, 
vol.  9,  p.  923. 

175 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

This  parting  deliverance  made  by  Governor  Hoyt  on  political 
conditions  in  Pennsylvania  reveals  in  him  the  character  of  true 
statesmanship.  His  remarks  should  be  cherished  by  all  patriotic 
citizens ;  for  they  describe  so  clearly  the  true  nature  of  good  gov- 
ernment. On  retiring  from  office,  Governor  Hoyt  began  the 
practice  of  law.     He  died  on  December  i,  1892. 


House  built  in  Philadelphia  for  the  President  of  the  United  States 

Completed  1797;  purchased  by  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania  in  1800.  From  the  Birch 
views 

Robert  Emory  Pattison  was  inaugurated  Governor  of  Penn- 
sylvania on  January  i6,  1883,  when  only  thirty-two  years  of  age. 
His  father,  Rev.  Robert  H.  Pattison,  was  a  minister  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  and  in  1850,  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of 
his  son,  was  stationed  at  Quantico,  Maryland.  Later  the  family 
removed  to  Philadelijhia,  wdiere  Robert  E.  Pattison  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools,  graduating  as  valedictorian  in  the  Central 
High  School.     In  1869  he  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 

176 


HOYT'S   &  PATTISON'S  ADMINISTRATIONS 

Hon.  Lewis  C.  Cassidy,  and  in  1872  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  In 
1877,  when  only  twenty-seven  years  old,  he  was  elected  Controller 
of  Philadelphia,  and  in  1880  he  was  chosen  for  a  second  term. 
His  wise  and  honest  administration  of  this  office  made  him  the 
nominee  of  his  party  for  Governor  two  years  later. 

Governor  Pattison  was  inaugurated  on  January  16,  1883. 
At  his  own  request  the  ceremony  was  as  simple  as  possible.  It 
is  said  that  he  refused  to  ride  in  a  carriage  from  the  railroad  sta- 
tion at  Harrisburg,  but  walked  to  the  hotel  on  the  occasion  of  his 
inauguration.  His  whole  administration  was  characterized  by  a 
spirit  of  economy  and  reform.  In  his  inaugural  address,  the  Gov- 
ernor urged  the  abolition  of  needless  offices,  rigid  accountability 
and  strict  economy  in  the  expenditure  of  public  money,  and  an 
equitable  distribution  of  the  burdens  of  government.  He  said  in 
closing :  "I  look  forward  with  bright  anticipation  to  the  future  of 
our  Commonwealth.  Her  possibilities  are  great  beyond  those  of 
almost  any  of  her  sister  States.  Let  it  always  be  remembered  by 
all  citizens  that  intelligence  and  virtue  are  the  safeguards  of  lib- 
eral institutions.  The  law  must  be  preserved  in  its  integrity  and 
supremacy;  citizenship  should  not  be  treated  as  a  light  privilege, 
but  its  duties  should  be  made  a  serious  matter  of  conscientious 
performance;  the  purity  of  our  elections  must  be  sacredly  pre- 
served ;  and  all  alike  should  feel  a  personal  interest  in  discharging 
their  obligations  to  the  State,  and  sustaining  the  officers  of  the 
law  in  the  faithful  and  just  performance  of  their  functions.  It 
will  always  be  my  pleasing  duty  to  co-operate  with  the  represent- 
atives of  the  people,  in  giving  validity  to  enactments  whose  ob- 
ject is  the  dissemination  of  information,  the  promotion  of  the 
general  welfare,  the  placing  of  additional  safeguards  around  the 
upright,  or  the  punishment  and  restraint  of  the  lawless  and  vicious. 
In  short,  whatever  will  tend  to  develop  the  resources,  increase  the 
comforts,  or  enlarge  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  citizens 
of  a  State,  which  has  been  alike  fortunate  in  its  location  and  the 
wise  policy  of  its  founder,  should  receive  the  sedulous  attention 

3-12  177 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

and  constant  support  of  every  one  who  is  called  upon  to  make, 
expound,  execute,  or  obey  the  laws." 

A  few  weeks  after  the  inauguration,  Governor  Pattison  sent 
a  message  to  the  legislature,  urging  immediate  action  on  certain 
reforms.  He  emphasized  especially  the  great  necessity  for  re- 
apportioning the  State  into  congressional,  senatorial  and  repre- 
sentative districts,  as  required  by  the  constitution :  "The  General 
Assembly,  at  its  first  session  after  the  adoption  of  this  constitu- 
tion, and  immediately  after  each  United  States  decennial  census, 
shall  apportion  the  State  into  senatorial  and  representative  dis- 
tricts agreeably  to  the  provisions  of  the  two  next  preceding  sec- 
tions." The  legislature  could  not  agree  upon  any  scheme  of  ap- 
portionment; but  on  June  6,  1883,  the  date  fixed  for  adjourn- 
ment, the  Governor  issued  a  proclamation  calling  an  extra  session 
to  meet  the  following  day.  In  making  this  call,  he  said :  "The 
obligation  is  imposed  upon  the  Governor  to  'take  care  that  the 
laws  be  faithfully  executed.'  I  deem  it  my  duty,  therefore,  to 
exhaust  my  lawful  authority  to  correct  the  grave  default  of  the 
legislature."  A  new  apportionment  of  the  judicial  districts  was 
made;  but  the  efforts  in  behalf  of  congressional  and  legislative 
apportionment  ended  in  a  complete  failure.  The  legislature  re- 
mained in  extra  session  until  December  6,  a  period  of  six  months. 
The  members  were  paid  ten  dollars  per  day,  and  all  they  accom- 
plished was  to  create  a  heavy  bill  of  expenses  for  the  government. 
The  Governor  severely  arraigned  the  legislature  for  this  neglect 
of  duty,  as  follows :  "They  adjourned  at  last  with  the  constitution 
still  unobeyed,  but  not  without  easily  succeeding,  by  sinking  all 
their  differences  (which  they  had  ostentatiously  paraded  for  the 
previous  six  months  for  the  purpose  of  defeating  the  law)  in  a 
coalition  to  over-ride  the  executive  veto,  and  take  over  a  half 
million  dollars  of  the  people's  money  without  rendering  any  re- 
turn in  service."  In  his  message  to  the  legislature,  in  January, 
1885,  the  Governor  urged  the  passage  of  a  law  fixing  a  specific 
salary  for  members  of  the  General  Assembly.     This  would  pre- 

178 


HOYTS   &  PATTISON'S  ADMINISTRATIONS 

vent  another  bill  of  expenses  so  great  as  that  incurred  in  the  extra 
session  of  1883.     An  act  was  promptly  passed,  fixing  the  salary 
at  $1,500  for  the  regular  session,  and  $500  for  the  extra  session 
without  regard  to  the  length. 

On  March  17,  1885,  an  act  was  approved  requesting  the  Gov- 
ernor to  appoint  an  Arbor  Day,  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging 
die  planting  of  trees  and  shrubbery.  On  March  23,  Governor 
Pattison  issued  the  first  Arbor  Day  proclamation,  appointing  April 
16,  1885.  The  custom  has  been  regularly  followed  from  that 
time  to  the  present. 

Pattison's   administration   was   characterized   throughout   by 
vigorous  executive  action.     He  had  pledged  himself  to  carry  out 
certain  principles  of  reform  and  he  applied  himself  to  this  work 
with  great  faithfulness.     In   1886  his  attention  was  called    to 
charges  of  neglect,  inhumanity,  and  corruption  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Soldiers'  Orphan  Schools.     These  charges  were  so 
direct  and  specific  that  the  Governor  determined  to  examine  into 
their  truthfulness.     He  first  made  inquiry  of  the  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction,  Dr.  Higbee,  who,  by  virtue  of  his  office 
had  charge  of  these  schools.     The  Superintendent  replied  that 
after  an  examination  of  the  conditions  in  one  of  the  schools    he 
was  confident  the  charges  were  false.     Not  satisfied  with  this 
reply.  Governor  Pattison  undertook  a  personal  investigation  of 
the  management  of  all  the  Soldiers'  Orphan  Schools.     Accom- 
panied by  the  Attorney-General  and  official  stenographers,  the 
Governor  visited  the  schools,  and  examined  under  oath  those  in 
charge    of    the  institutions,  as  well  as  the  orphans  themselves. 
Inquiry  was  made  into  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  buildings 
the  clothing,  the  quality  of  food,  and  the  discipline.     The  Secre- 
tary of  the  State  Board  of  Health  also  inspected  the  schools  and 
made  a   detailed   report   thereon.     The   investigation   continued 
nearly  a  month,  and    the    testimony  of  the  scores  of  witnesses 
filled  a  thousand  pages.     After    the    work  was  completed  the 
Governor  arrived  at  the  following  conclusions :     "As  a  result  of 

179 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

this  exhaustive  examination,  I  was  entirely  convinced  of  the 
truth  of  the  charges  made.  It  is  impossible,  with  the  evidence 
procured,  to  doubt  that  for  many  years  the  generous  bounty  of 
the  State  has  been  systematically  and  deliberately  wasted  and 


Pennsylvania  Hospital  as  it  appeared  in  1799 

From  the   Birch  views 


perverted;  the  orphans  in  many  cases  defrauded  of  the  com- 
monest comforts  of  life;  cruelty  and  inhumanity  of  the  most 
repulsive  character  practiced,  and  the  schools  conducted  by  a 
combination  of  mercenary  contractors  in  the  most  corrupt,  un- 
lawful, and  heartless  manner.  To  do  this  the  laws  governing  the 
institutions  have  been  disregarded  and  persistently  violated ;  the 
public  officers  charged  with  their  superintendence  and  govern- 
ment have  been  negligent,  incompetent  and  studiously  derelict; 

180 


HOYTS   &  PATTISON'S  ADMINISTRATIONS 

and,  while  the  investigation  was  being  made,  either  abstained 
from  assistance  or  embarrassed  the  discovery  of  the  facts." 

In  order  to  reform  the  management  of  these  schools,  the 
Governor  regarded  a  change  of  officials  as  absolutely  necessary. 
He  dismissed  the  male  and  female  inspectors,  and  would  have 
removed  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  from  office, 
but  for  the  constitutional  provision  denying  the  Governor  that 
power.  Governor  Pattison  did  request  Dr.  Higbee  to  resign, 
but  the  latter  refused,  continuing  in  office  until  his  death  in  the 
year  1889.  General  Louis  Wagner,  of  Philadelphia,  was  ap- 
pointed male  inspector  of  the  schools  in  the  place  of  the  officer 
removed.  After  these  changes  in  management,  the  Governor 
reported  to  the  legislature  a  marked  improvement  in  the  condition 
of  the  soldiers'  orphans.  This  investigation  aroused  an  intense 
feeling  throughout  the  State  and  public  opinion  was  divided  at 
the  time  concerning  the  charges. 

In  1886  the  Attorney-General  began  legal  proceedings  in 
order  to  enforce  the  section  in  the  Constitution  governing  rail- 
road corporations:  "No  railroad,  canal  or  other  corporation, 
or  the  lessees,  purchasers  or  managers  of  any  railroad  or  canal 
corporation,  shall  consolidate  the  stock,  property,  or  franchises  of 
such  corporation  with,  or  lease,  or  purchase  the  works  or  fran- 
chises of,  or  in  any  way  control  any  other  railroad  or  canal  corpo- 
ration owning  or  having  under  its  control  a  parallel  or  competing 
line."  One  of  the  legal  proceedings  referred  to  was  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preventing  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  from  purchasing  the 
franchises  of  the  South  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  a  competing  line, 
and  the  control  of  the  Beech  Creek  Railroad.  Suit  was  begun  in 
the  Dauphin  county  court  which  granted  a  preliminary  injunc- 
tion. The  proceedings  were  removed  to  the  Supreme  Court  on 
appeal,  where  the  decision  of  the  lower  court  was  affirmed. 

The  condition  of  the  State  funds  during  Pattison's  adminis- 
tration indicated  general  prosperity.  In  four  years  the  debt  was 
reduced  $2,966,101.     Deducting  the  money  held  by  the  Com- 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

monwealth  in  the  sinking  fund,  the  actual  debt  on  December  i, 
1886,  was  $7,078,235.82.  At  the  same  time  all  the  ordinary 
expenses  of  government  were  met,  and  there  remained  in  the 
treasury  $2,101,457.57. 

The  approaching  election  for  Governor  in  1886  brought  four 
candidates  into  the  field.  The  Republicans  nominated  James  A. 
Beaver;  the  Democrats,  Chauncey  F.  Black;  the  Prohibitionists, 
Charles  S.  Wolf,  and  the  Greenback  Party,  Robert  J.  Houston. 
In  this  campaign  the  Republicans  were  not  divided,  as  they  had 
been  in  the  previous  campaign ;  hence  General  Beaver  received 
the  united  vote  of  the  party  and  was  elected.  Governor  Pattison 
sent  his  final  message  to  the  legislature  on  January  4,  1887.  It 
was  filled  with  the  spirit  of  reform,  and  he  closed  by  saying: 
"Four  years  of  executive  service  have  convinced  me  how  much 
is  yet  to  be  accomplished  for  the  reformation  of  abuses  which 
have  grown  up  constantly  and  imperceptibly  in  nearly  all  of  the 
departments  of  the  civil  administration.  The  duty  of  eradi- 
cating these  abuses  is  a  task  of  great  magnitude,  but  will  as- 
suredly yield  to  fidelity,  industry,  and  zeal.  In  the  effort  to 
accomplish  this  end,  there  should  be  entire  unity  of  purpose,  and 
mutual  assistance  by  all  the  officers  of  the  Government.  I  do 
not  feel  that  I  would  properly  acquit  myself  of  my  entire  duty 
in  this  respect,  if  I  did  not  fully  lay  before  the  Assembly  the 
results  of  my  official  study  and  observation.  That  they  may  be 
of  aid  to  the  legislature  in  promoting  good  government  and 
advancing  the  prosperity  of  the  Commonwealth,  is  my  earnest 
hope  and  only  desire." 

Governor  Pattison  retired  from  office  on  January  18,  1887. 
He  was  soon  afterward  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  on  the  Railroad  Commission.  While  occupying  this 
position  he  assisted  in  investigating  the  Pacific  railways,  and  he 
recommended  that  the  partnership  between  the  Government  and 
the  Pacific  Railroad  should  terminate.  His  second  administra- 
tion as  Governor  will  be  the  theme  of  a  subsequent  chapter. 

182 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BEAVER'S  AND  PATTISON'S  ADMINISTRATIONS— 1887-1895 

JAMES  ADDAMS  BEAVER  was  inaugurated  on  Janu- 
ary 18,  1887.  In  his  address  to  the  people  on  this  occasion, 
he  publicly  thanked  the  retiring  Governor  "for  the  earnest- 
ness of  purpose  which  has  governed  him  in  the  discharge  of  the 
high  duties  to  which  he  was  called."  Governor  Beaver  was 
born  at  Millerstown,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  1837.  He  was 
for  some  time  a  student  at  the  Pine  Grove  Academy,  and  in  1856 
graduated  at  Jefferson  College  when  not  yet  nineteen  years  of 
age.  Taking  up  his  residence  in  Bellefonte,  he  began  the  study 
of  law,  and  in  1859  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Centre  county. 
He  was  always  deeply  interested  in  military  affairs,  and  when  the 
Rebellion  broke  out  he  was  commissioned  lieutenant  in  the  2(1 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  The  same  year  he  was  made  Colonel 
of  the  148th  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  Colonel  Beaver  re- 
ceived wounds  in  the  engagements  at  Chancellorsville,  Spott- 
sylvania,  and  Cold  Harbor,  while  he  lost  his  right  leg  at  Ream's 
Station,  Virginia,  on  August  25,  1864.  He  was  then  brevetted 
Brigadier-General  for  bravery,  and  was  mustered  out  of  service 
on  December  22,  1864.  He  always  took  a  liveh-  interest  in 
Republican  politics,  and  in  1882  was  the  unsuccessful  candidate 
of  his  party  for  Governor. 

At  the  session  of  the  legislature  in  1887  the  question  of  ap- 
portionment was  again  considered  and  the  State  was  divided 
into    twenty-eight    congressional    districts.     At    the    same    time 

183 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

representative  districts  were  provided  for  two  hundred  and  four 
members  in  the  lower  House  of  the  legislature.  The  question 
of  temperance  also  received  considerable  attention  at  the  hands 
of  our  law  makers  in  Beaver's  administration.  One  of  the 
earliest  forms  of  the  crusade  against  strong  drink  in  Pennsyl- 
vania was  in  the  local  option  law  of  1872,  which  authorized 
counties  and  cities  to  vote  for  or  against  licensing  saloons.  This 
law  was  tried  for  a  short  time  and  then  repealed.  The  sentiment 
for  restricting  the  sale  of  liquor  is  also  shown  in  the  growth  of 
the  Prohibition  party,  which  figured  so  prominently  in  the  presi- 


Arms,  1805 

dential  campaign  of  1884.  In  his  messages  of  1885  and  1887, 
Governor  Pattison  invited  public  attention  to  the  urgent  need 
for  legislation  with  reference  to  the  liquor  traffic.  He  said : 
"The  legislature  ought,  at  once,  to  revise  the  entire  license  sys- 
tem of  the  State.  The  cost  of  license  ought  to  be  increased  to 
such  a  figure  as  would  eradicate  the  enormous  number  of  small 
tippling  houses.  Some  regulation  should  be  enacted  limiting  the 
number  of  licenses  that  may  be  granted  for  taverns  within  a  given 
area,  and  for  a  given  number  of  inhabitants.  A  petition  signed 
by  a  reasonable  number  of  the  free-holders  or  residents  in  the 
neighborhood,  square,  or  election  district  in  which  the  tavern  is 
to  be  located,  praying  for  the  issuing  of  the  license,  should  be 
required  to  authorize  the  granting  of  the  same,  and  the  license 
should  be  limited  to  the  place  for  which  it  is  first  granted  or 
named  in  the  petition,  and  made  void  upon  removal.  The  person 
to  whom  a  license  is  granted  should  be  required  to  be  of  proved 

184 


BEAVER   AND   PATTISON 

good  moral  character,  and  there  sliould  hkewise  be  rigid  regula- 
tions as  to  the  hours  during  which  taverns  may  be  kept  open,  as 
to  sales  to  minors  and  drunken  persons,  and  such  other  provisions 
as  will  tend  to  lessen  the  evils  of  indiscriminate  tippling,  en- 
forced by  adequate  penalties  and  forfeiture  of  license  for  a 
violation  of  the  law."  The  above  reference  to  the  liquor  traffic 
was  made  in  January,  1887,  at  which  time  it  is  said  there  were 
at  least  seven  thousand  licensed  saloons  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia. The  legislature  in  that  year  passed  the  high  license  law, 
which  fixed  the  license  fee  in  cities  of  the  first  class  at  five  hun- 
dred dollars ;  while  by  a  subsequent  amendment  the  charge  was 
raised  to  one  thousand  dollars.  In  the  year  1887  the  prohibition 
sentiment  was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  legislature,  and  a  joint 
resolution  was  passed  to  prohibit  by  constitutional  amendment, 
the  manufacture,  sale,  or  keeping  for  sale  of  any  intoxicating 
liquor  to  be  used  as  a  beverage.  Requiring  the  approval  of  two 
legislatures,  the  amendment  was  again  passed  in  the  session  of 
1889.  On  April  15  the  Governor  issued  a  writ  of  election  for 
June  18,  for  the  purpose  of  approving  or  rejecting  the  amend- 
ment. The  amendment  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  484,644  to 
296,617. 

The  great  natural  resources  of  Pennsylvania  have  ever 
opened  an  inviting  field  for  practically  trained  men ;  hence  the 
necessity  of  technical  and  industrial  education.  Governor  Hart- 
ranft  realized  this  fact,  and  he  frequently  urged  the  estab- 
lishment of  scientific  schools.  In  1887  the  whole  subject  came 
up  for  consideration  in  the  legislature.  On  May  19  a  joint 
resolution  was  approved,  requesting  the  Governor  to  appoint  a 
commission  of  five  persons  to  make  inquiry  and  report  to  the 
legislature  respecting  the  subject  of  industrial  education.  In 
accordance  with  this  resolution,  the  Governor  appointed  George 
W.  Atherton,  A.  H.  Fetterolf,  N.  C.  Schaeffer,  George  J.  Luckey, 
and  Theodore  W.  Bean,  as  members  of  the  so-called  Industrial 
Education   Commission.     These  gentlemen   were  authorized  to 

185 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

make  a  study  of  systems  of  industrial  education  in  operation  else- 
where, and  to  inquire  as  to  the  best  means  of  promoting  it  in  this 
State.  A  great  mass  of  literature  was  thus  brought  together 
and  published  as  a  report,  "constituting,"  the  Governor  said,  "the 
best  body  of  practical  information  upon  this  subject  which  has 
yet  been  collected."  The  work  of  this  commission  bore  imme- 
diate fruit,  for  manual  training  schools  were  soon  established  in 
the  larger  cities  and  towns  of  the  Commonwealth.  Governor 
Beaver  gave  much  serious  thought  to  this  subject,  and  in  his 
message  of  1889  he  wrote:  "The  alphabet  of  the  straight  line, 
the  angle  and  the  curve,  is  just  as  essential  to  the  training  for 
usefulness  as  the  ordinary  alphabet  through  which  we  express 
our  thought  in  words.  The  education  of  the  hand,  so  that  it 
can  be  applied  dexterously  to  the  practical  work  which  comes  to 
every  man  in  salving  the  problem  of  life,  is  just  as  important  as 
the  knowledge  of  arithmetic  which  is  applied  in  so  many  different 
ways  by  those  who  become  acquainted  with  its  rudiments  in  our 
public  schools.  The  improvement  in  our  school  system  required 
for  to-day  is  not  more  time  for  school,  but  more  instruction  in 
such  branches  as  tend  to  fit  men  and  women  for  their  legitimate 
place  in  practical  every-day  life." 

In  1887  and  inquiry  was  made  into  the  forestry  conditions  of 
Pennsylvania.  On  April  28  a  joint  resolution  of  the  legislature 
was  approved,  enabling  the  Governor  to  appoint  a  commission  of 
five  persons  "to  examine  and  consider  the  subject  of  forestry  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  report  the  result  of  their  labors,  by  bill  or 
otherwise,  to  the  next  regular  session  of  the  legislature."  Hon. 
Washington  Townsend,  Prof.  William  A.  Buckhout,  Col.  George 
B.  Weistling,  Rev.  Samuel  F.  Colt,  and  Mr.  George  O.  Prae- 
torius,  were  named  as  members  of  this  commission.  These 
gentlemen  made  a  careful  study  of  the  subject,  and  presented  a 
report  filled  with  practical  suggestions.  The  forestry  commis- 
sion was  continued,  and  in  1893  Dr.  J.  T.  Rothrock,  of  West 
Chester,  was  made  botanist  of  the  department.     Dr.   Rothrock 

186 


BEAVER  AND  PATTISON 

has  been  in  charge  of  the  work  since  that  time,  and  he  has  pushed 
it  forward  with  commendable  zeal.  Many  acres  of  forest  land 
have  been  redeemed  from  destruction,  and  systematic  tree  plant- 
ing has  been  encouraged. 

By  the  act  of  June  15,  1887,  an  appropriation  was  made  for 
the  erection  of  memorial  tablets  or  monuments  to  mark  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Pennsylvania  regiments  on  the  battlefield  of  Gettys- 
burg. The  work  was  rapidly  pushed  forward  and  the  memorials 
were  dedicated  on  Pennsylvania  Day,  September  11-12,  1889. 
The  proceedings  on  this  occasion  form  an  interesting  contribu- 
tion to  military  history,  and  the  material  has  since  been  published 
by  the  State  in  two  volumes  entitled  "Pennsylvania  at 
Gettysburg." 

The  year  1887  marked  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  An  event  of  so  much  na- 
tional importance  could  not  pass  by  without  fitting  ceremonies. 
On  December  2,  1886,  the  Constitutional  Centennial  Commission 
was  organized  at  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  making  all 
necessary  arrangements  pertaining  to  the  celebration.  It  may  be 
said  that  the  movement  originated  in  a  joint  resolution  of  the 
legislature  of  New  Jersey,  adopted  on  June  2,  1886,  inviting  "the 
governors  and  representatives  of  the  thirteen  colonial  States  to 
assemble  in  Philadelphia  on  the  17th  of  September  following,  to 
consider  the  propriety  of  a  national  celebration."  The  other 
States  responded  and  the  result  was  the  formation  of  the  Com- 
mission on  December  2.  An  attempt  to  secure  congressional 
action  failed ;  but  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  appropriated 
seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  This  amount  was  greatly  increased 
by  private  subscriptions,  and  by  the  appropriations  of  other  States. 
The  Commission  arranged  for  a  civic  and  industrial  procession  on 
September  15th,  a  military  display  on  the  i6th,  and  memorial  day 
ceremonies  in  Independence  Square  on  the  17th.  The  occasion 
was  celebrated  with  great  credit  to  all  concerned,  and  it  well 
illustrated  the  dignity  and  grandeur  of  the  Republic. 

187 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

On  May  31,  1889,  the  Commonwealth  was  visited  by  a  devas- 
tating flood,  which  left  death  and  ruin  in  its  path,  and  destroyed 
property  worth  several  million  dollars.  While  the  whole  State 
suffered  from  the  calamity,  the  regions  along  the  West  Branch 
of  the  Susquehanna,  the  Juniata,  and  the  Conemaugh  Rivers 
were  the  principal  scenes  of  desolation.  A  rain  storm  continuing 
several  days  had  so  increased  the  volume  of  the  water  that  it  could 
not  be  carried  away.  The  towns  on  the  western  slope  of  the 
mountains  suffered  most.  A  large  dam  on  the  South  Fork,  ten 
miles  from  Johnstown,  broke  on  the  afternoon  of  May  31,  and  in 
a  short  time  that  city  and  neighboring  villages  were  swept  away. 
In  a  few  moments,  three  thousand  lives  were  lost;  communities 
were  broken  up,  and  government  ceased  to  exist.  Relief  com- 
mittees were  at  once  organized  in  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg; 
and  the  Governor  appointed  the  Flood  Relief  Commission  for  the 
purpose  of  distributing  funds  and  other  aid.  This  commission 
received  and  paid  out  nearly  three  million  dollars,  nine-tenths  of 
which  was  applied  to  the  relief  of  sufferers  in  the  Conemaugh 
Valley.  The  State  Board  of  Health  inspected  the  region  visited 
by  the  flood,  and  on  June  12,  took  charge  of  the  sanitary  work 
at  Johnstown. 

The  Fourteenth  regiment  and  one  company  of  the  Fifth  regi- 
ment of  the  National  Guard  were  placed  on  duty  here  to  assist  in 
maintaining  order  and  guarding  property.  Under  command  of 
Adjutant-General  Hastings,  valuable  service  was  rendered  and 
the  best  discipline  was  preserved  all  through  this  trying  ordeal. 
General  Hastings  personally  superintended  the  work  of  the  State 
Board  of  Health,  and  showed  great  executive  abilities  whils  thus 
engaged.  The  debris  was  removed  as  promptly  as  possible,  and 
healthful  conditions  were  restored.  The  people  of  Johnstown, 
although  prostrated  by  their  misfortune,  soon  recovered,  and 
rebuilt  their  city,  making  it  a  more  beautiful  place  than  ever  be- 
fore. 


Charles  Willson  Peale 


Artist;  author;  naturalist;  soldier;  dentist; 
member  State  Legislature,  1799;  founder  Phil- 
adelphia Museum,  1802.  Photographed  espe- 
cially for  this  work  from  an  engraving  by  J.  B. 
Longacre  after  the  painting  by  Rembrandt 
Peale 


BEAVER   AND  PATTISON 

On  April  17,  1889,  the  legislature  passed  an  act  establishino 
a  nautical  school  ship  upon  the  Saratoga,  which  was  furnished 
by  the  United  States  government.  About  one  hundred  youn- 
men  are  trained  in  nautical  affairs  upon  this  ship.  The  course  oi 
instruction  is  rendered  more  practical  by  a  cruise  each  season. 
The  benefits  of  the  school  ship  were  at  once  demonstrated,  espe- 
cially in  the  Spanish-American  war,  when  a  number  of  youn^r 
men  found  places  in  the  United  States  navy.  "" 

Under  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  May  20,  1889,  the  office  of 
factory  inspector  was  established  to  provide  for  the  safety  of 
women  and  children  employed  in  factories  and  mills.  It  is  the 
duty  of  the  factory  inspector  to  report  to  the  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics,  on  or  before  November  30  of  each  year,  the  name  of 
every  factory,  the  number  of  hands  emploved,  and  the  number  of 
hours  of  work  performed  each  week.  This  system  of  inspection 
has  produced  marked  changes  in  the  condition  of  the  factories, 
and  strict  regulations  have  been  adopted  for  the  comfort  of  the 
employes. 

During  Beaver's  administration,  a  number  of  commissions 
were  appointed  to  consider  matters  of  public  interest  and  report 
thereon.  Under  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  May  4,  1889  the 
Governor  selected  Hon.  Wayne  MacVeagh,  Hon.  Robert  E  Mon- 
aghan,  and  William  H.  Miller,  Esq.,  to  act  with  a  similar  com- 
mission from  the  State  of  Delaware,  to  survey  and  re-establish 
the  boundary  Ime  between  the  two  States.  A  new  line  was  agreed 
upon,  and  was  appropriately  marked ;  but  for  several  years  the 
matter  has  been  in  litigation  on  account  of  the  dissatisfaction 
caused  by  the  new  boundary.  Commissions  were  also  appointed 
to  revise  and  codify  the  laws  relating  to  the  poor;  to  revise  the 
laws  relating  to  public  highways,  and  to  investigate  the  subject 
of  coal  waste.  Another  commission,  "to  make  and  survey  a  route 
for  a  ship  canal  to  connect  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio 
River,"  made  a  careful  study  of  this  question,  and  reported  the 

191 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

feasibility  of  such  an  undertaking.  Governor  Beaver  wrote  en- 
thusiastically on  this  subject,  as  follows :  "If  the  waters  of  Lake 
Erie  and  the  Ohio  were  connected  by  a  canal  such  as  is  proposed 


Richard  Peters 

Secretary  Continental  Board  of  War,  1776; 
afterward  commissioner  of  war  until  1781; 
discovered  tliat  Benedict  Arnold  was  converting 
war  funds  to  his  own  use;  member  Continental 
Congress,  1782-1783;  speaker  State  Assembly, 
1788-1790;  speaker  State  Senate,  1791;  judge 
United  States  District  Court,  1792-1828;  first 
president  Philadelphia  Agricultural  Society 

and  shown  to  be  entirely  feasible,  and  if  the  present  canal  from 
Albany  to  Buffalo  were  enlarged  so  as  to  admit  vessels  of  the 
same  size,  these  links  would  secure  a  chain  of  inter-waterway 
communication  between  New  York  and  New  Orleans,  which 
would  be  invaluable  for  commercial  purposes  and  in  times  of  war 


192 


BEAVER   AND   PAfriSON 

would  furnish  an  entirely  safe  means  of  communication  between 
these  important  termini  and  all  interior  points.  It  would  in  ad- 
dition give  us  control  for  defensive  purposes  of  our  lake  front, 
which  we  do  not  now  have  and  which  it  is  doubtful  whether  we 
can  secure  in  any  other  way  under  present  treaty  stipulations." 

Dr.  E.  E.  Higbee,  Superintendent  of  Public  Schools  since 
April  I,  1 88 1,  died  at  his  home  in  the  city  of  Lancaster,  on 
December  13,  1889.  Like  Thaddeus  Stevens,  Dr.  Higbee  came 
into  our  State  from  Vermont,  and  like  Stevens,  he  did  much  to 
advance  the  interests  of  our  public  schools.  He  graduated  from 
the  University  of  Vermont  in  1849,  and  his  first  employment 
after  this  event  was  as  assistant  in  the  academy  at  South  Wood- 
stock, Vermont.  He  soon  removed  to  Emmitsburg,  Maryland, 
and  taught  in  a  classical  school  there.  He  also  began  the  study 
of  law  and  hoped  to  return  some  day  to  his  native  State,  to  prac- 
tice this  profession.  The  plans  for  his  lifework  were  changed, 
however,  and  in  185 1,  he  became  a  student  in  the  Theological 
Seminary,  at  Mercersburg,  Pennsylvania.  Here  he  was  under 
the  influence  of  Nevin  and  Schaff,  and  in  1854,  was  licensed  to 
preach  in  the  Reformed  Church.  He  was  pastor  of  several 
prominent  churches,  until  1864,  when  he  was  elected  Professor 
of  Church  History  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Mercersburg. 
Dr.  Higbee  was  instrumental  in  founding  Mercersburg  College, 
which  began  its  existence  in  1864,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr. 
Appel.  When  Dr.  Appel  went  to  Lancaster  in  1871.  Dr.  Higbee 
succeeded  him  as  President  of  the  College,  holding  this  position 
until  1880,  when  the  institution  closed  its  doors.  The  world  will 
probably  never  fully  realize  the  good  accomplished  by  Mercers- 
burg College,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Higbee;  but  financial 
difficulties  doomed  it  to  an  untimely  end.  Governor  Hoyt  at 
once  recognized  Dr.  Higbee's  abilities  and  nominated  him  for 
the  position  of  State  Superintendent  of  Schools.  The  wisdom  of 
the  choice  was  soon  apparent,  for  the  new  Superintendent  rapidly 

3-13  193 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

made  a  deep  impression  upon  educational  affairs.  He  was  twice 
reappointed  and  was  cut  off  in  the  midst  of  his  work  by  a  stroke 
of  paralysis  on  December  13,  1889.  Thus,  Vermont  gave  two 
sons  to  Pennsylvania,  both  of  whom  stamped  their  personality 
upon  the  school  system  of  our  State,  and  whose  memory  it  is 
pleasant  to  recall. 

In  the  campaign  for  Governor  in  1890,  practically  the  same 
political  conditions  existed  as  in  1882.  There  were  four  candi- 
dates: George  W.  Delamater,  Republican;  Robert  E.  Pattison, 
Democrat;  John  D.  Gill,  Prohibition,  and  T.  P.  Rynder,  Labor. 
Great  dissatisfaction  prevailed  in  the  Republican  ranks,  and  Mr. 
Pattison  was  elected  Governor  for  a  second  time.  Mr.  Beaver 
retired  from  office  on  January  20,  1891,  and  at  once  resumed  the 
practice  of  law.  In  1895  he  was  appointed  Judge  in  the  new  Su- 
perior Court,  and  a  year  later  he  was  elected  to  this  office  for  the 
full  term  of  ten  years. 

In  his  inaugural  address  on  January  20,  189 1,  Governor  Pat- 
tison briefly  referred  to  several  important  problems,  which  he 
hoped  to  consider  during  his  administration :  "First,  constitu- 
tional enforcement;  second,  the  purification  of  elections,  involv- 
ing ballot  reform,  personal  registration  and  the  prevention  of  the 
misuse  of  money  in  politics;  third,  taxation;  fourth,  municipal 
government." 

During  the  month  of  May,  1891,  great  excitement  was  cre- 
ated in  the  financial  and  political  circles  of  the  State  by  the  failure 
of  the  Keystone  and  Spring  Garden  National  banks  of  Philadel- 
phia, in  which  John  Bardsley,  the  city  treasurer,  was  a  depositor 
not  only  of  moneys  belonging  to  that  municipality,  but  also  of 
taxes  collected  for  the  Commonwealth.  A  few  days  after  the 
failure  of  these  banks,  it  was  found  that  Bardsley's  losses  would 
make  him  a  defaulter  to  the  city  and  the  State  to  a  large  amount. 
He  at  once  resigned  his  office,  and  was  prosecuted  for  embezzling 
public  funds.  On  trial,  he  pleaded  guilty  and  was  sentenced  to 
fifteen  years'  imprisonment  and  to  pay  a  fine  of  $237,000.     In  ap- 

194 


BEAVER   AND   PAT  T I  SON 

pointing  a  successor  to  Mr.  Bardsley  there  was  a  legal  contro- 
versy between  the  city  authorities  and  the  State  government. 
Governor  Pattison  appointed  William  R.  Wright,  as  city  treas- 
urer; but  he  failed  of  confirmation  by  the  Senate.  After  ad- 
journment, the  appointment  was  renewed;  but  Mr.  Wright  was 
denied  admission  to  the  office  by  the  gentleman  selected  by  the 
authorities  of  Philadelphia.  The  matter  was  referred  to  the  Su- 
preme Court,  which  body  decided  in  favor  of  the  Governor's  ap- 
pointee. Upon  investigation  it  was  found  that  the  personal  prop- 
erty tax  collected  by  the  city  and  due  the  State  for  the  year  1890, 
amounted  to  $472,013;  for  1891,  $289,232.96,  besides  which 
there  still  remained  unpaid  $367,614.18  in  license  taxes.  Gov- 
ernor Pattison  attached  some  blame  for  this  defalcation  upon  the 
Auditor-General  and  the  State  Treasurer.  In  view  of  these  facts, 
he  convened  the  Senate  in  extraordinary  session  on  October  13, 
1891.  An  investigation  followed;  but  after  a  lengthy  session, 
the  Senate  decided  that  it  had  no  jurisdiction  in  the  matter. 

By  an  act  of  June  19,  1891,  the  ballot  reform  system  was 
established,  the  first  practical  test  of  which  was  made  at  the  State 
and  local  elections  on  November  8,  1892.  This  is  popularlv 
known  as  the  "Australian"  ballot  system,  which  provides  for  se- 
crecy in  voting,  thus  insuring  the  citizen  freedom  from  intimida- 
tion. The  first  practical  test  of  the  method  proved  very  satis- 
factory, and  but  few  complaints  were  heard  in  any  of  the  counties 
of  the  State.  In  suggesting  revision  in  some  of  the  minor  details 
of  the  law,  the  Governor  said :  "The  entire  subject  ought  to  be 
approached  in  a  spirit  of  non-partisanship  and  to  be  treated  in 
the  light  of  experience,  so  as  to  secure  what  all  good  citizens  of 
the  Commonwealth  approve — an  electoral  system  which  will  pro- 
vide a  secret  and  honest  ballot,  enabling  every  voter  to  exercise 
his  franchise  with  the  greatest  freedom  and  independence,  sup- 
pressing and  preventing  coercion,  interference,  bribery  or  corrup- 
tion, and  securing  a  fair  count,  and  an  honest  return  of  the  real 
will  of  the  people  after  it  has  been  plainly  expressed." 

19s 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 


In  1892,  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad  endeavored  to 
make  a  lease  or  consolidation  of  the  Lehigh  and  Susquehanna  and 
the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  companies.  It  was  feared  that  this  ar- 
rangement would  have  serious  effects,  since  these  railroads  were 
the  great  coal  carriers,  and  united  into  one  system,  they  would 


William  Findlay 

Member  State  Legislature,  1797  and  1803; 
State  treasurer,  1807-1817;  governor,  1817-1820; 
United  States  Senator,  1821;  treasurer  United 
States  Mint,    1827-1840 

destroy  competition,  and  have  a  monopoly  of  the  coal  trade.  The 
Attorney-General  examined  the  proposed  lease,  and  decided  that 
it  was  in  violation  of  the  constitution.  On  March  14,  bills  of 
equity  were  filed  in  the  courts  of  Dauphin  county  for  a  perpetual 
injunction  restraining  the  lessee  from  operating  the  corporations 
it  had  thus  acquired.  Before  a  decision  was  reached  in  our  courts 
the  combination  was  broken  up  by  a  decree  of  the  Chancellor  of 

196 


BEAVER   AND  P  ATT  I  SON 

New  Jersey,  setting  aside  the  leases  between  these  companieb. 
The  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey,  operating  the  Lehigh  and 
Susquehanna,  thus  resumed  possession  of  its  lines  and  began  op- 
erating the  same;  while  shortly  afterward,  the  Lehigh  Valley 
railroad  passed  from  the  control  of  the  Reading  system. 

There  were  numerous  strikes  during  Pattison's  administra- 
tion, in  the  suppression  of  which  it  was  necessary  to  use  the  strong 
arm  of  State  authority.  About  six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
April  2,  1891,  the  Governor  received  a  dispatch  from  the  sheriff 
of  Westmoreland  county,  giving  the  information  that,  in  a  riot, 
seven  persons  had  been  killed  and  twenty-one  wounded.  As  the 
sheriff  declared  himself  unable  to  restore  order,  the  Governor  at 
once  ordered  two  regiments  of  the  National  Guard  to  his  assist- 
ance. The  troops  reached  the  scene  of  disturbance  in  a  few  hours, 
and  at  midnight  peace  was  restored;  but  it  cost  the  State  $35,- 
350.13  to  bring  about  these  results.  On  July  6,  1892,  the  sheriff 
of  Allegheny  county  telegraphed  to  the  Governor,  asking  mili- 
tary protection  from  the  mob  at  Homestead,  where  several  colli- 
sions had  occurred  with  fatal  results.  The  strike  here  was  caused 
by  the  effort  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company  to  reduce  the  wages 
of  its  employees.  Armed  men  were  employed  by  the  company  to 
protect  those  men  who  wished  to  work,  while  a  large  force  of 
Pinkerton  detectives  was  brought  there  to  guard  the  property. 
The  striking  miners  attacked  these  detectives,  and  in  the  riots  a 
dozen  lives  were  lost.  The  Governor  insisted  that  the  local  au- 
thorities must  exhaust  all  means  to  preserve  the  peace  before  the 
National  Guard  could  be  called  out.  On  July  10,  the  sheriff"  of 
Allegheny  county  again  telegraphed  for  assistance.  Governor 
Pattison  immediately  ordered  the  Major-General  to  move  two 
brigades  of  the  troops  to  Homestead,  which  place  was  reached  on 
the  morning  of  July  12.  The  presence  of  the  soldiers  had  a  salu- 
tary effect  upon  the  lawless  mob  and  order  was  restored,  impos- 
ing a  cost  on   the   State   of  $430,056.88.     Governor   Pattison 

197 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

was  convinced  that  the  authorities  at  Homestead  had  made  no 
serious  effort  to  suppress  the  disorder.  In  referring  to  this 
matter,  he  said :  "The  entire  community  seemed  to  surrender 
to  the  disorderly  element.  At  the  beginning,  fifty  determined 
men,  moved  by  a  love  of  order  and  a  patriotic  spirit,  would  have 
suppressed  this  whole  disturbance.  I  therefore  suggest  to  the 
legislature  that  the  costs  incurred  in  suppressing  local  disturb- 
ance in  which  the  civil  authorities  call  upon  the  military  power  of 
the  Commonwealth,  should  be  placed  upon  the  county  calling  for 
the  troops.  This  may  be  an  incentive  to  local  authorities  to  de- 
termined action  in  the  beginning  of  a  disturbance,  rather  than 
have  their  treasury  mulcted  in  a  large  sum  to  defray  the  expenses. 
At  least  the  State  can  make  some  effort  to  prevent  the  often  hasty 
and  unwarranted  calling  for  the  presence  of  troops."  These  riots 
continued  at  other  places.  On  January  27,  1893,  there  was  a 
strike  at  Mansfield,  Allegheny  county,  resulting  in  the  destruction 
of  property  and  the  loss  of  life.  In  June,  1894,  the  foreign  min- 
ers in  Jefferson  county  caused  a  strike,  and  the  disposition  to  de- 
stroy property  rendered  it  necessary  to  call  out  two  regiments  of 
the  National  Guard.  Statistics  give  fifty-three  strikes  for  1893, 
and  twenty-seven  for  1894,  all  the  latter  failing  in  their  purpose 
save  three. 

The  State  of  Pennsylvania  made  a  very  commendable  show- 
ing at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  held  at  Chicago  in  1893. 
The  legislature  granted  an  appropriation  of  $300,000,  of  which 
sum  $130,000  was  used  for  the  erection  and  furnishing  of  a  State 
building.  The  various  interests  of  agriculture  and  forestry,  hor- 
ticulture, live  stock,  fish  and  fisheries,  mines  and  mining,  ma- 
chinery, transportation,  manufactures,  electricity,  fine  arts,  liberal 
arts,  and  ethnology  were  all  represented.  The  exhibit  well  illus- 
trated the  material  and  educational  progress  of  the  State,  and  the 
commission  in  charge  of  the  work  performed  their  duties  in  a 
most  faithful  manner,  meeting  all  expenditures,  and  leaving  an 
unused  balance  of  more  than  twenty-four  thousand  dollars. 

198 


BE  AVER   AND  P  ATT  I  SON 

An  effort  was  made  to  promote  the  interests  of  forestry  in 
1893,  the  legislature  having  voted  an  appropriation,  thus  en- 
abling the  Governor  to  appoint  a  commission.  William  F.  Shunk 
was  selected  as  engineer,  and  Dr.  J.  T.  Rothrock  as  botanist  of 
the  commission.  Within  two  years  they  made  a  careful  study  of 
the  forests  in  thirty-three  counties,  and  made  an  interesting  re- 
port thereon,  the  closing  part  of  which  read  as  follows : 

"We  have  found  extensive  areas  of  the  State  depopulated, 
waste  and  becoming  each  year  more  impoverished,  and  we  have 
arrived  at  the  profound  conviction  that  unless  some  counteracting 
agencies  be  set  at  work,  the  productive  capacity  of  from  a  sixth 
to  a  fourth  of  the  Commonwealth  will  be  most  seriously  impaired. 
Between  lands  stripped  of  timber  and  steep  hillsides,  which  have 
proved  unremunerative  in  agriculture,  there  exists  a  vast  area, 
the  present  tendency  of  which  is  to  become  constantly  worse, 
until  no  crop  can  be  hoped  for  from  it. 

■'It  is  hardly  likely  that  we  shall  be  able  personally  to  cover 
the  State  before  the  expiration  of  our  commissions;  nor,  indeed, 
is  it  required  by  the  act  under  which  we  work  that  we  should  do 
so,  but  we  shall  have  ample  facts  to  indicate  the  need  of  prompt 
and  positive  action  on  the  part  of  the  State." 

In  1893,  the  legislature  appropriated  half  a  million  dollars 
for  the  erection  of  a  fire  proof  building  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Capitol  grounds,  to  be  occupied  by  the  State  Library  and  the  va- 
rious executive  offices.  The  building  was  promptly  completed, 
thus  making  a  handsome  addition  to  the  Capitol  buildings,  and 
at  the  same  time  affording  a  permanent  home  for  the  State  Li- 
brary with  its  hundred  thousand  volumes. 

On  October  7,  1894,  Andrew  Gregg  Curtin  died  at  his  home 
in  Bellefonte,  in  the  eightieth  year  of  his  age.  This  event  caused 
profound  sorrow  in  all  parts  of  the  land,  and  the  newspapers  were 
filled  with  tributes  and  eulogies  on  his  heroic  character.  The 
great  "War  Governor"  of  Pennsylvania  was  called  to  join  the 
ranks  of  the  soldier  dead,  whom  he  had  so  often  inspired  with 

199 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

courage  during  the  Civil  War.  His  funeral  took  place  at  Belle- 
fonte  on  October  lo,  and  the  ceremonies  were  a  fitting  tribute  to 
his  worth  as  a  citizen,  a  lawyer  and  a  patriot.  One  of  the  most 
beautiful  references  to  his  memory  was  that  of  his  old  friend, 
Colonel  A.  K.  McClure,  who  said :  "J^^t  as  yesterday's  sun  was 
lifting  the  curtain  of  night  in  the  east,  with  the  promise  of  the 
brightest  of  autumn  Sabbaths,  the  life  of  Andrew  Gregg  Curtin 
ended  in  that  dreamless  sleep  of  the  dead.  Measured  only  by  his 
great  public  record  that  is  rarely  equalled  in  patriotic  achieve- 
ment, in  field  or  forum,  he  did  not  die  untimely.  He  had  passed 
the  period  allotted  to  mortals  and  his  great  work  was  finished. 
For  several  years  he  has  rested  from  the  wearying  exactions  of 
public  affairs,  but  he  did  not  lag  superfluous  on  the  stage.  His 
interest  in  the  country  in  whose  annals  he  has  written  a  most  illus- 
trious chapter,  was  never  lessened ;  and  his  life  closed  in  that 
mellow  grandeur  of  ripened  years,  with  all  the  cherished  affec- 
tions of  youth,  and  beloved  by  all  who  came  within  the  range  of 
his  acquaintance." 

In  the  election  for  Governor  in  1894,  there  were  five  candi- 
dates :  Daniel  H.  Hastings,  Republican ;  William  M.  Singerly, 
Democrat ;  Charles  I.  Hawley,  Prohibition ;  Jerome  T.  Allman, 
People's ;  and  Thomas  H.  Grundy,  Socialist-Labor.  Notwith- 
standing this  array  of  candidates,  the  Republican  party  was 
united,  and  Hastings  was  triumphantly  elected,  receiving  the 
largest  vote  in  the  history  of  State  elections.  After  retiring  from 
office  on  January  15,  1895,  Governor  Pattison  entered  into  busi- 
ness in  Philadelphia,  where  he  became  president  of  the  Security 
Trust  and  Life  Insurance  Company.  In  1896,  he  was  the  choice 
of  the  Pennsylvania  delegation  in  the  Democratic  convention  at 
Chicago  for  nomination  for  President  of  the  United  States,  re- 
ceiving about  one  hundred  votes.  In  1902,  he  was  again  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  Governor,  but  was  defeated  by  Hon. 
Samuel  W.  Pennypacker. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HASTINGS'S,  STONE'S  AND  PENNYPACKER'S  ADMINISTRA- 
TIONS—1895- 1905 


DANIEL  HARTMAN  HASTINGS  was  inaugurated  as 
Governor  on  January  15,  1895.  Popular  with  the  masses, 
as  his  plurality  exceeding  241,000  votes  indicates,  the 
people  looked  upon  his  elevation  to  this  high  office  with  great 
favor.  General  Hastings  was  born  of  Scotch-Irish  parentage  in 
Clinton  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1849.  He  passed  his  boyhood 
days  upon  his  father's  farm,  and  in  the  winter  months,  attended 
the  country  school.  At  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  became  a  teacher  in 
Clinton  county.  In  1867,  he  was  elected  principal  of  the  academy 
at  Bellefonte,  and  a  year  or  two  later  was  principal  of  the  public 
schools  at  that  place.  At  the  same  time,  he  edited  the  "Belle- 
fonte Republican,"  and  studied  law,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
Centre  county  in  1875.  Later  on,  he  became  interested  in  the 
mining  industry  in  Cambria  county,  in  which  business  he  acquired 
considerable  wealth.  Although  too  young  to  participate  in  the 
Civil  War,  General  Hastings  always  manifested  great  interest  in 
military  affairs.  In  1877,  he  became  a  captain  in  the  National 
Guard.  In  1884,  he  was  commissioned  colonel  of  the  5th  Infan- 
try, which  he  commanded  until  he  was  appointed  Adjutant-Gen- 
eral by  Governor  Beaver.  The  work  done  by  General  Hastings  in 
connection  with  the  Johnstown  flood,  made  him  a  popular  hero. 
From  that  time  on  his  name  was  frequently  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  the  governorship.     In  1890,  he  was  a  candidate  for  the 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

nomination ;  but  was  defeated  in  the  convention  by  eleven  votes. 
•Four  years  later  he  was  nominated  and  triumphantly  elected. 

In  his  inaugural  address,  Governor  Hastings  urged  improve- 
ment and  expansion  in  the  methods  of  transacting  the  business 
of  the  State  through  its  various  executive  departments.  He  said  : 
"The  people  have  the  right  to  demand,  and  do  expect,  that  the 
business  of  the  State  shall  be  conducted  on  principles  which  expe- 
rience and  sound  judgment  have  established  as  safe  and  prudent, 
and  that  the  General  Assembly  will  act  as  promptly  upon  the  work 
before  them  as  prudence  and  proper  deliberation  will  permit." 
Following  the  Governor's  suggestions,  the  legislature  created 
several  new  executive  departments.  By  an  act  of  June  24,  1895, 
the  Superior  Court  was  organized  to  relieve  the  pressure  of  busi- 
ness in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  On  November  5,  of  that 
year,  James  A.  Beaver,  Edward  N.  Willard,  John  J.  Wickham, 
Charles  E.  Rice,  Howard  J.  Reeder,  George  B.  Orlady,  and  Peter 
P.  Smith,  were  elected  judges  of  the  new  court.  On  March  13, 
1895,  an  act  was  approved  for  the  establishment  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture.  The  wisdom  of  this  legislation  was  at  once 
demonstrated.  The  new  department,  through  its  Secretary,  at 
once  began  a  vigorous  campaign  to  improve  the  agricultural  con- 
ditions of  the  State.  Farmers'  institutes  were  organized  and 
held  in  the  different  counties  during  five  months  of  the  year.  In 
four  years  seven  hundred  and  forty-three  of  these  meetings  w^re 
held,  with  an  average  daily  attendance  of  three  hundred  and  fifty, 
thus  reaching  at  least  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people. 
One  thousand  lecturers  assisted  in  the  work,  which,  it  may  be 
said,  was  supplemented  by  the  courses  offered  in  the  School  of 
Agriculture  at  the  State  College.  The  act  establishing  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  directed  the  Secretary  to  obtain  and 
publish  information  as  to  the  extent  and  condition  of  the  forests 
in  this  State.  The  legislature  in  1897  passed  an  act  authorizing 
a  commission  to  secure  State  forestry  reservations.     Up  to  No- 

202 


William  Tilghman 


Member  Maryland  Legislature  several  years; 
chief  judge  United  States  Circuit  Court  1801- 
iSoj;  judge  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  Penn- 
sylvania, 1805;  chief  justice  State  Supreme 
Court  in  1806.  Photographed  especially  for 
this  work  from  original  canvas  at  American 
Philosophical    Society 


HASTINGS,  SrONE,  AND   PENNYPACKER 

vember  30,  1898,  55,681  acres  of  woodland  located  at  the  head- 
waters  of  the  larger  rivers,  had  been  purchased  for  forestry  re- 
serves. 

On  July  3,  1895,  an  act  of  the  legislature  was  approved  for 
the  erection  of  a  monument  to  each  of  the  Pennsylvania  organi- 
zations engaged  in  the  battles  of  Chickamauga  and  Chattanooga, 
the  said  monuments  to  be  placed  on  their  respective  battle  lines. 
An  appropriation  of  $1,500  was  made  for  each  monument,  and 
an  executive  committee  was  appointed  with  power  to  act.  The 
work  was  completed  in  1898,  and  it  reflects  great  credit  to  the 
State,  and  to  the  regiments  interested  in  these  memorials. 

In  1895,  the  number  of  factory  inspectors  was  increased  from 
twelve  to  twenty,  and  the  work  of  supervision  was  distributed 
among  fifteen  men  and  five  women.  Up  to  1897,  6,636  factories 
were  inspected  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-one  children  under 
thirteen  years  of  age  were  dismissed  from  employment.  In  1895, 
an  act  was  also  passed  providing  for  the  safety  of  persons  em- 
l)l()yed  in  tenements  where  clothing,  cigars  and  other  articles  are 
made.  By  means  of  this  legislation,  larger  factories  were  se- 
cured, provided  with  sanitary  improvements  and  fire  escapes. 

In  1895,  the  Cotton  States  and  International  Exposition  was 
held  at  Atlanta,  Georgia.  Realizing  the  importance  of  this  event, 
our  legislature,  by  joint  resolution,  authorized  the  a]ipointmcnt  of 
a  commission  to  prepare  an  exhibit.  An  appropriation  of  $38,000 
was  made,  and  a  State  building  was  erected.  The  display  made 
by  our  citizens  was  creditable,  and  compared  favorably  with  those 
of  other  States.  November  14  was  "Pennsylvania  Day,"  when 
fitting  ceremonies  were  held  at  our  State  building. 

On  the  afternoon  of  February  2,  1897,  the  main  capitol  build- 
ing at  Harrisburg  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  legislature,  then  in 
session,  having  no  place  for  assembly,  Grace  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  was  hurriedly  fitted  up  for  that  purpose.  The  Governor 
at  once  urged  the  erection  of  another  building,  and  suggested  that 
a  structure  suitable  for  the  use  of  the  General  Assembly  could  be 

205 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

built  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  $550,000.  The  legislature  promptly 
authorized  the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  devise  plans  for 
the  new  building,  and  to  supervise  the  erection  of  the  same.  The 
corner-stone  was  laid  on  August  10,  1898,  and  the  structure  was 
occupied  by  the  legislature  in  January,  1899.  There  were  many 
disputes  in  the  Commission  during  the  construction  of  the  build- 
ing, which,  when  turned  over  to  the  State,  must  have  been  in  an 
unfinished  condition,  according  to  Governor  Hastings's  account  of 
it.  The  Governor  said :  "The  act  requires  that  the  building  'shall 
be  built  in  that  phase  of  the  renaissance  style  of  architecture  known 
as  the  Colonial.'  This  structure  bears  no  more  resemblance  to  Co- 
lonial architecture  than  does  the  Egyptian  sphinx.  There  are  scores 
of  farmers'  barns  in  Pennsylvania  more  attractive  in  appearance 
than  this  building.  It  is  made  of  common  brick,  embedded 
in  cheap  mortar,  looks  like  a  hastily  erected  factory  building,  and 
is  repulsive  to  the  eye.  The  roof  is  made  of  hemlock  and  pine 
boards  covered  with  tarred  felt,  pitch  and  sand ;  the  gables  and 
dome  are  covered  with  third-rate  quality  of  pine  fencing  boards ; 
and  the  floors  are  made  of  common  pine  boards  which  give  under 
the  feet.  The  stairs  and  staircases,  including  the  main  entrance, 
are  all  wood,  and  the  partitions  between  the  rotunda  and  west 
wings  and  upper  floors  are  of  seven-eighths  inch  matched  pine 
fencing,  and  the  same  material  is  placed  in  front  of  the  elevator 
shafts.  Only  about  one-fifth  of  the  entire  building  is  plastered 
at  all,  and  such  as  is  plastered  is  of  two-coat  work.  There  is  no 
plastering  whatever  in  the  halls  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives.  The  Senate  Chamber  walls  are  finished  with 
burlap  stained  green,  fastened  to  the  rough  sides  of  the  wall 
composed  of  brick  and  tiles.  The  walls  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives are  finished  with  burlap  stained  garnet,  and  fastened  to 
the  rough  brick  walls,  also  made  of  tile  and  brick.  Although  the 
act  of  Assembly  requires  that  the  building  shall  be  'made  as  nearly 
fire-proof  as  possible,'  the  roof  and  most  of  the  interior  fittings 
are  as  combustible  as  possible." 

206 


Thomas  Jefferson 


Drafted  Declaration  of  Independence,  1776; 
third  President  of  the  United  States,  1801-1809. 
Photographed  especially  for  this  work  from  the 
painting  by  Sully  in  possession  of  the  American 
Philosophical   Society 


HASTINGS,  STONE,  AND   PENNYPACKER 

In  the  fall  of  1897,  the  peace  of  the  State  was  disturbed  by 
a  series  of  strikes  in  the  coal  regions.  On  September  10,  the 
Governor  was  informed  that  a  collision  had  occurred  between 
the  sheriff  of  Luzerne  county,  and  the  miners  in  the  vicinity  of 
Hazleton.  In  this  struggle  eighteen  miners  were  killed,  and  a 
large  number  were  wounded.  The  excitement  became  intense, 
and  the  strike  spread  into  adjoining  counties,  until  more  than  ten 
thousand  miners  were  involved  in  the  uprising.  At  a  public 
meeting  held  in  Hazelton,  resolutions  were  adopted  requesting 
prompt  action  on  the  part  of  the  State  government.  The  sheriffs 
of  Schuylkill  and  Carbon  counties  also  informed  the  Governor 
that  they  were  unable  to  preserve  order.  The  strikers  had  threat- 
ened to  march  in  a  body  on  Hazelton  and  avenge  the  death  of  their 
comrades.  The  serious  condition  of  affairs  prompted  the  Gov- 
ernor to  call  out  the  militia;  accordingly,  orders  were  issued, 
directing  the  Third  Brigade.  General  Gobin  commanding,  to 
report  at  Hazelton.  In  a  few  hours,  2,499  officers  and  men  were 
at  the  scene  of  disturbance  fully  equipped  for  any  emergency. 
The  presence  of  the  troops  had  a  salutary  effect,  and  order  was 
restored  without  firing  a  shot.  On  September  24,  the  soldiers 
began  to  break  camp,  and  by  October  4  the  last  division  had  left 
for  home. 

The  Spanish-American  war  aroused  much  enthusiasm  in  the 
National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania.  On  April  25,  1898,  President 
McKinley  called  upon  the  Governor  for  10,860  soldiers  for  the 
volunteer  army,  the  troops  to  be  taken  from  the  State  militia. 
On  the  same  day,  orders  were  issued  for  the  National  Guard  to 
report  at  Mount  Gretna  on  April  28.  The  Guard  assembled  here 
with  characteristic  promptness,  when  a  general  order  was  issued, 
part  of  which  read  as  follows : 

"The  Commander-in-Chief  desires  to  impress  upon  the  ofificers 
and  men  of  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania  his  appreciation 
of  the  patriotism  evidenced  by  the  prompt  response  to  General 
Orders  No.  7,  A.  G.  O.,  c.  s.,  and  directs  attention  to  the  fact  that 

3-14  209 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

the  necessities  of  the  situation  do  not  require  that  any  member  of 
the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania  shall  consider  himself  bound 
by  such  membership  to  enlist  in  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
if  such  enlistment  shall  impose  upon  him  personal  sacrifices  not 
made  necessary  under  the  limited  call  of  the  President,  or  hard- 
ships upon  those  who  are  dependent  upon  him  for  support,  nor 
shall  such  non-enlistment  be  in  anywise  considered  an  avoidance 
of  duty  or  be  to  the  prejudice  of  men  who,  willing  to  endure 
everything  for  their  flag  and  country,  are  not  called  upon  to  render 
service  that  can  be  rendered  by  those  upon  whom  the  demands  of 
home  and  family  do  not  rest  so  heavily,  and  who  await  the 
opportunity  to  serve  their  country." 

Although  this  order  was  read  to  each  command,  at  least 
seventy-one  per  cent,  of  the  National  Guard  volunteered.  On 
May  13,  the  work  of  recruiting  was  completed,  when  it  was 
found  that  592  officers  and  10,268  men  had  enlisted  in  the  service 
of  the  United  States,  for  a  term  of  two  years  unless  sooner  dis- 
charged. On  May  25,  1898,  the  President  issued  a  second  call 
for  troops,  this  time  the  number  being  75,000  men.  Pennsyl- 
vania's cjuota  was  6,370,  which  was  promptly  furnished.  The 
Pennsylvania  troops  were  at  once  ordered  to  the  military  camps 
in  the  Southern  States.  The  Tenth  Regiment  was  ordered  to 
Manila,  where  the  troops  of  this  command  made  a  gallant  record 
for  bravery  in  several  engagements.  The  artillery,  cavalry,  and 
the  Fourth  and  Sixteenth  Regiments  served  in  the  campaign  in 
Porto  Rico.  The  other  divisions  furnished  by  our  State  re- 
mained in  camp  in  this  country.  With  the  return  of  peace,  the 
Pennsylvania  troops  were  all  honorably  discharged,  excepting  the 
Eighth,  Tenth,  Thirteenth,  Fourteenth,  Fifteenth  and  Sixteenth 
Regiments.  Great  efficiency  was  displayed  by  the  military  de- 
partment of  the  State  on  this  occasion.  Pennsylvania  offered 
her  full  quota  of  men  before  any  other  State,  and  our  troops, 
when  in  camp  and  field,  displayed  all  the  qualities  of  regulars. 


HJSTINGS,  STONE,  AND   PENNYPACKER 

When  fever  broke  out  in  the  mihtary  camps,  the  hospitals  of  the 
State  offered  quarters  and  niechcal  treatment  to  the  stricken  sol- 
diers. Finally,  Camp  Meade  was  established,  near  Harrisburg, 
and  with  the  assistance  of  the  Pennsylvania  Sanitary  Commission, 
regular  hospital  trains  were  provided  to  carry  from  the  camp 
those  suffering  with  fever.  The  Pennsylvania  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion developed  into  a  National  Relief  Commission,  which  rendered 
valuable  aid  to  the  entire  volunteer  army,  and  did  so  much  to  alle- 
viate the  sufferings  incident  to  war. 

The  State  made  commendable  progress  in  educational  work 
during  Hastings's  administration.  The  enforcement  of  the  law 
making  attendance  at  school  compulsory  began  to  show  good 
results,  and  the  act  permitting  boards  of  education  to  establish 
school  libraries  opened  the  way  for  a  more  general  diffusion  of 
knowledge.  Provision  was  also  made  to  more  carefully  guard 
the  interests  of  higher  education.  By  an  act  of  the  legislature  in 
1895,  the  College  and  University  Council  was  organized  with 
power  to  regulate  the  granting  of  charters  to  degree-conferring 
institutions.  Prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1873, 
the  legislature  granted  charters  of  a  collegiate  nature  to  many 
seminaries  of  a  low  grade.  The  result  was  a  great  abuse  in  the 
privilege  of  conferring  degrees.  The  College  and  University 
Council  is  endowed  with  ample  authority  to  correct  such  abuses, 
and  in  the  case  of  chartering  a  new  institution,  to  require  a  certain 
high  educational  standard.  Governor  Hastings  was  very  anxious 
to  extend  the  advantages  of  secondary  education  to  the  rural  dis- 
tricts; hence  his  warm  advocacy  of  township  high  schools.  He 
believed  that  the  agricultural  regions  were  being  depopulated 
chiefly  on  account  of  the  lack  of  proper  school  facilities.  In  his 
message  of  1897,  he  spoke  eloquently  on  this  subject,  as  follows: 
"The  township  high  school  is  needed  in  our  agricultural  com- 
munities to  provide  equal  opportunities  and  advantages  with  those 
now  in  existence  in  the  towns.     If  the  population  of  one  town- 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

ship,  and  other  conditions  should  not  require  a  separate  high 
school,  two  or  more  townships  could  unite  and  jointly  share  the 
expense  and  advantage.  Ten  acres  of  ground,  partly  wooded,  a 
stream  of  water,  a  commodious  play  ground,  with  facilities  for 
an  arboretum,  orchard,  garden,  flowers  and  park,  surrounding 
suitable  buildings  fully  equipped,  and  with  competent  teachers, 
conducting  the  scholars  who  have  passed  beyond  the  district 
school,  through  a  three  or  four  years'  high  school  course,  is  a 
consummation  which,  besides  being  pleasant  to  contemplate,  is 
neither  impossible  nor  unnecessarily  expensive.  The  State  can 
make  no  better  use  of  its  revenues  than  to  employ  them  in  this 
direction.  We  boast  of  our  great  material  resources.  They 
were  here  ages  before  William  Penn  became  our  founder.  They 
w^ere  valueless  until  touched  by  the  hand  of  man.  Man  makes 
the  State.  Coal  and  iron,  oil  and  gas,  fertile  soil  and  boundless 
forests  are  only  adjuncts.  Mind  training  should  be  the  chief 
industry.  The  intellectual  and  moral  development  of  the  youth 
of  the  land  is  the  paramount  duty.  The  same  spirit  which  built 
the  church  and  brought  religious  teaching  to  the  home  of  the  poor 
as  well  as  the  rich  ought  surely  to  bring  to  the  door  of  all  the 
opportunity  for  that  education  best  suited  to  their  needs,  capacity 
and  natural  adaptation.  The  township  high  school  will  place  the 
farmer's  boy  on  the  same  basis  with  the  town  and  city  body.  The 
States  of  Maine,  Wisconsin,  Michigan  and  Massachusetts  have 
pointed  the  way  to  secondary  and  higher  education  worthy  of  our 
emulation.  The  twentieth  century  system  of  free  education 
should  make  it  possible  for  every  boy  and  girl  beginning  with  the 
common  school,  to  continue  through  the  high  school  up  to  the  end 
of  the  college  course.  A  large  number  might  not  avail  themselves 
of  the  advantages  of  the  college  course,  but  the  opportunity  should 
be  ever  present  for  the  deserving  patron  of  the  common  and  high 
school.  The  connecting  link  between  the  high  school  and  the 
college,  as  a  part  of  a  free  educational  system,  has  been  an  accom- 


HASTINGS,   STONE,   AND   PENNYPACKER 

plished  fact  for  several  years  in  at  least  one  of  our  sister  States." 
Such  were  Governor  Hastings's  educational  sentiments.  The 
State  was  far  from  realizing  his  ideals;  for  in  many  districts,  the 
salaries  of  the  teachers  did  not  equal  the  annual  cost  of  maintain- 
ing a  pauper  in  the  alms-house.  There  was,  however,  an  increase 
in  the  number  of  high  schools ;  but  very  few  had  as  yet  been 
established  in  the  rural  districts. 

The  campaign  for  Governor  in  1898  was  attended  by  many 
exciting  incidents.  The  candidates  were  William  A.  Stone,  Re- 
publican ;  George  A.  Jenks,  Democrat ;  Silas  C.  Swallow,  Prohi- 
bitionist; and  J.  Mahlon  Barnes,  Socialist-Labor.  Dr.  Swallow 
made  an  active  canvass  of  the  whole  State,  addressing  meetings 
in  the  cities  and  larger  towns.  At  one  time  in  the  campaign, 
considerable  anxiety  was  felt  in  the  Republican  ranks;  but  Mr. 
Stone  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  over  1 17,000  votes.  Governor 
Hastings  retired  from  office  on  January  17,  1899,  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  mining  interests  in  which  he  had  been  concerned 
for  a  number  of  years.  His  death  on  January  9,  1903,  came  as 
a  shock  to  his  many  friends  and  admirers.  A  severe  attack  of 
pneumonia  hastened  him  off  in  the  midst  of  a  successful  career, 
when  apparently  many  years  of  usefulness  lay  before  him.  He 
had  carved  out  his  own  career,  starting  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  when 
he  trudged  twenty  miles  through  the  snows  to  seek  a  position  as 
teacher.  He  rose  until  he  became  chief  magistrate  of  the  State, 
and  his  fellow  citizens  were  always  proud  of  his  achievements. 
Their  good  will  followed  him  into  private  life,  and  people  of  all 
parties  shared  the  bereavement  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

William  Alexis  Stone,  who  succeeded  General  Hastings  as 
Governor  of  the  Commonwealth,  was  born  in  Tioga  county  in 
the  year  1846.  He  was  educated  in  the  country  schools,  and  at 
the  Mansfield  State  Normal  School.  As  a  boy  of  seventeen  he 
enlisted  in  the  187th  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  was  mus- 
tered out  in  1865  with  the  grade  of  second  lieutenant.     In  1870, 

213 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Tioga  county,  and  practiced  law  at 
Wellsboro.  In  1887  he  removed  to  Pittsburg,  and  engaged  in 
the  work  of  his  profession.  From  1880  to  1886  he  was  United 
States  District  Attorney  for  the  Western  District  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Mr.  Stone  represented  his  district  in  Congress  from  1891 
until  1899,  when  he  became  Governor  of  the  State. 

The  new  administration  was  confronted  at  the  beginning  with 
serious  financial  difficulties.  While  the  net  debt  of  the  State  was 
only  $1,025,981.93,  a  floating  debt  of  three  and  a  half  million 
dollars  had  accumulated,  and  this  was  annually  increasing  at  the 
rate  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  condition  resulted 
from  the  fact  that  past  legislatures  had  appropriated  more  money 
than  the  estimated  revenues.  The  income  of  the  State  treasury 
was  sufficient  to  pay  only  the  current  expenditures,  exclusive  of 
the  floating  indebtedness.  The  Governor  referred  to  this  embar- 
rassing situation  in  his  inaugural  address.  He  showed  that  the 
revenues  were  not  likely  to  exceed  eleven  and  a  half  million  dol- 
lars, while  the  estimated  expenditures  for  the  year  1899,  were 
sixteen  million  dollars.  He  then  presented  statistics  to  the  effect 
that  Pennsylvania  appropriated  larger  sums  for  educational  pur- 
poses than  any  other  State  in  the  Union,  the  amount  in  1898  ex- 
ceeding sixty-four  per  cent,  of  the  entire  revenue.  As  a  remedy 
to  meet  existing  difficulties,  the  Governor  suggested  that  a  por- 
tion of  the  annual  appropriation  of  five  and  a  half  million  dollars 
for  the  common  schools  be  withheld.  In  referring  to  this  sub- 
ject, he  said :  "As  I  have  before  stated,  it  is  far  in  excess  of  the 
amounts  appropriated  by  other  States.  It  is  far  beyond  a  due 
and  reasonable  proportion  of  our  annual  revenues.  But  the 
State  has  entered  upon  this  project,  and  it  might  be  unwise  to 
reduce  this  appropriation.  I  would  not  like  to  recommend  this 
except  in  case  of  necessity.  I  would  not  hesitate  to  do  it  if  I 
saw  no  other  way  out  of  the  difficulty,  for  there  is  one  point  be- 
yond which  I  could  not  justify  myself  in  going,  and  that  is  to 

214 


HASTINGS,  STONE,  AND  PENNYPACKER 

approve  bills  which  appropriate  more  money  than  the  State  is 
likely  to  receive  in  the  coming  fiscal  year."  In  the  session  of 
1899.  the  legislature  as  usual  appropriated  $11,000,000  to  the 
public  schools  for  the  period  of  two  years,  or  five  and  a  half 
million  dollars  annually.  When  the  appropriation  bill  reached 
the  Governor  for  his  approval,  he  reduced  the  item  for  public 
schools  to  $10,000,000  for  two  years.  In  taking  this  action,  he 
said :  "If  a  large  deficit  did  not  already  exist  in  our  Treasury  on 
account  of  these  appropriations,  and  if  the  anticipated  revenues  of 
the  State  would  justify  their  continuance,  I  should  most  cheer- 
fully give  my  approval  to  this  section  of  the  General  Appropria- 
tion Bill.  I  cordially  commend  the  intelligent  purpose  and  patri- 
otic devotion  of  our  citizens  to  the  common  schools  of  the  State, 
but  every  honest  man  must  concede  that  it  is  impossible  for  the 
State  to  give  away  more  money  than  it  receives,  no  matter  how 
worthy  the  purpose  for  which  the  money  is  expended.  It  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  reduce  the  appropriations  made  by  the  legisla- 
ture, and  it  has  seemed  to  me  that,  since  free  text-books  have 
already  been  provided  and  paid  for  out  of  the  general  appropria- 
tions made  since  1893,  the  annual  appropriations  could  be  reduced 
$500,000  a  year  without  doing  any  injustice  to  the  schools." 
Within  two  years,  the  financial  condition  of  the  State  had  greatly 
improved,  and  there  was  a  large  cash  balance  in  the  treasury.  In 
his  message  to  the  legislature  in  1901,  the  Governor,  therefore, 
urged  the  passage  of  a  bill  appropriating  the  million  dollars  with- 
held from  the  schools.  This  was  accordingly  done;  hence  the 
educational  interests  of  the  State  suffered  only  temporary  incon- 
venience from  the  reduction  two  years  before. 

The  peace  of  the  State  was  seriously  disturbed  by  riots  at 
Shenandoah  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1900.  An  extensive  strike 
was  then  in  progress  in  the  anthracite  coal  region,  and  on  Sep- 
tember 2 1 ,  two  thousand  men  occupied  the  streets  of  Shenandoah, 
firing  revolvers  and  resisting  the  civil  authorities.     Two  persons 

215 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

were  killed  and  seventeen  wounded.  The  sheriff  of  Schuylkill 
county  reported  these  facts  to  the  State  government,  and  request- 
ed the  protection  of  the  National  Guard.  Governor  Stone  imme- 
diately took  action,  and  on  the  morning  of  September  22,  orders 
were  issued  for  the  movement  of  the  Fourth,  Eighth,  and  Twelfth 
Regiments,  Battery  C,  and  the  Governor's  Troop  to  Shenandoah. 
By  noon  that  day,  two  thousand  troops  were  at  the  scene  of  dis- 
turbance, thus  preventing  any  further  violence.  The  troubles 
were  all  adjusted  before  October  31,  on  which  date  the  last  of  the 
Guard  was  withdrawn. 

On  May  2,  1902,  another  strike  was  inaugurated  in  the  an- 
thracite coal  field,  beginning  as  in  1900,  with  a  riot  at  Shenan- 
doah. The  sheriff  of  Schuylkill  county  was  not  able  to  control 
the  mob,  and  called  on  the  Governor  for  aid.  The  Eighth  and 
Twelfth  Regiments,  a  portion  of  the  Fourth  Regiment,  and  the 
Governor's  Troop  were  placed  on  duty  under  the  command  of 
Brigadier-General  Gobin.  During  the  summer  the  strike  spread 
into  Carbon.  Lackawanna,  Northumberland,  Luzerne,  Susfiue- 
hanna  and  Columbia  counties,  thus  practically  closing  all  the 
anthracite  mines.  As  acts  of  violence  became  frequent,  the  sher- 
iffs of  these  counties  made  requests  for  troops.  The  Governor 
then  called  out  the  following  divisions :  August  27,  Second 
Troop,  Philadelphia  Cavalry;  September  23,  Thirteenth  Regi- 
ment Lifantry;  September  24,  Ninth  Regiment  Lifantry;  Sep- 
tember 28,  Sheridan  Troop;  and  September  29,  the  remaining 
eight  companies  of  the  Fourth  Regiment.  It  was  hoped  that, 
with  the  presence  of  this  large  military  force,  property  could  be 
protected  and  the  mining  of  coal  resumed.  But  as  the  disaffected 
region  was  so  large,  not  much  progress  was  made  in  this  direc- 
tion. By  this  time,  cool  weather  was  approaching,  and  the  people 
feared  a  coal  famine  that  might  extend  through  the  winter.  Pub- 
lic opinion  demanded  further  protection  on  the  part  of  the  State. 
Governor   Stone  was,   therefore,   urged   to  place  the  remaining 

216 


Robert  Fulton 


Artist;  inventor;  the  first  to  make  a  commer- 
cial success  of  steam  navigation,  1807.  Repro- 
duced especially  for  this  work  from  an  engrav- 
ing by  Gilbert  Psrker,  after  a  painting  by  Ben- 
jamin West 


HASTINGS,  STONE,  AND   PENNYPACKER 

divisions  of  the  National  Guard  on  duty,  and  by  October  17,  8,750 
troops  were  in  the  field,  or  ninety-two  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
Guard.  In  the  meantime  serious  efforts  were  made  to  adjust  the 
differences  existing  between  the  operators  and  the  miners.  In 
these  negotiations,  Hon.  George  F.  Baer,  President  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Coal  and  Iron  Company,  and  John  Mitchell,  President  of 
the  United  Mine  Workers  of  America,  became  prominent  figures 
in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  President  Roosevelt  finally  persuaded 
the  representatives  of  the  operators  and  the  miners  to  submit  all 
difference  to  a  commission  of  arbitration,  or  commission  to  in- 
vestigate all  the  problems  connected  with  mining,  and  to  make  a 
report  thereon  which  would  be  binding  on  both  parties.  The 
members  of  this  commission  were  General  John  M.  Wilson,  E.  W. 
Parker,  Hon.  George  Gray,  E.  E.  Clark,  Thomas  H.  Watkins, 
Bishop  J.  L.  Spalding,  and  Hon.  Carroll  D.  Wright.  The  last 
troops  were  recalled  from  duty  on  November  12,  and  mining  was 
at  once  resumed,  pending  the  deliberations  of  the  strike  commis- 
sion. The  labors  of  the  commission  were  arduous,  and  the  final 
award  was  not  announced  until  March  21,  1903,  the  chief  points 
of  which  are  an  advance  of  ten  per  cent,  in  wages,  and  a  refusal 
to  recognize  the  miners'  union. 

The  phenomenal  growth  of  the  country  was  fittingly  illus- 
trated in  the  Pan-American  Exposition  at  Buffalo,  New  York, 
which  was  held  from  May  i,  to  November  i,  1901.  Congress 
appropriated  $500,000  toward  the  enterprise,  and  the  various 
States  responded  in  a  liberal  spirit.  Pennsylvania,  through  the 
legislature,  made  generous  provision  for  an  exhibit,  and  Governor 
Stone  appointed  Hon.  Joseph  Bufiington  and  Colonel  James  El- 
verson  as  vice-presidents,  and  Mrs.  William  McCreery,  and  Mrs. 
Charles  C.  Harrison  as  members  of  the  Board  of  Women  Man- 
agers. A  pall  of  sorrow  was  cast  over  the  whole  country  on 
account  of  the  assassination  of  President  McKinley,  while  visiting 
the  Exposition  on  September  6.     Governor  Stone  at  once  issued 

219 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

a  proclamation  appointing  September  8  as  a  day  of  prayer  for  the 
restoration  to  health  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  Mr. 
McKinley  died  on  Septembr  14,  and  the  Governor  issued  another 
proclamation,  making  Thursday,  September  19,  the  day  of  the 
President's  funeral,  a  day  of  mourning  and  prayer  throughout 
the  State.  On  this  occasion  all  business  was  suspended,  and  the 
people  rendered  a  full  measure  of  reverence  in  honor  of  the 
President,  who  was  so  suddenly  removed  by  death. 

At  the  election  for  Governor  in  November,  1902,  the  candi- 
dates were  Judge  Samuel  W.  Pennypacker,  Republican,  and  Hon. 
Robert  E.  Pattison,  Democrat,  each  of  whom  made  a  tour  of  the 
State,  addressing  meetings  in  the  principal  towns.  Mr.  Penny- 
packer  was  elected  by  a  plurality  of  over  150,000  votes,  and  was 
inaugurated  on  January  20,  1903.  The  new  Governor  was  born 
at  Phoenixville,  Chester  county,  April  9,  1843.  His  father,  Dr. 
Isaac  A.  Pennypacker,  was  a  prominent  physician,  and  for  a  time 
held  a  professorship  in  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Medicine. 
Judge  Pennypacker  was  educated  in  private  schools  and  grad- 
uated from  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
In  1863  he  went  to  the  front  as  a  member  of  the  26th  Pennsyl- 
vania emergency  regiment,  which  met  the  first  onslaught  of  the 
enemy  at  Gettysburg.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Philadel- 
phia in  1866,  and  practiced  law  until  1889,  when  Governor  Bea- 
ver api)()inte(l  him  to  fill  a  vacancy  on  the  bench  of  Common 
Pleas  in  that  city.  The  next  year,  he  was  elected  for  the  full  term 
of  ten  years,  and  was  re-elected  in  1900.  Judge  Pennypacker  is 
the  author  of  several  legal  works,  and  has  also  written  a  number 
of  books  relating  to  the  early  history  of  Pennsylvania. 

Governor  Pennypacker  was  inaugurated  at  the  State  capitol, 
Harrisburg,  on  January  twenty.  1903.  In  his  address  on  the 
occasion,  he  referred  to  the  boundless  wealth  of  the  State,  the 
annual  revenues  almost  reaching  eighteen  million  dollars,  while 
the  indebtedness  had  nearly  all  been  cancelled.      He  spoke  of  the 


HASTINGS,  STONE,  AND   PENNYPACKER 

mixlcni  tendency  of  too  nnich  leg'islation,  and  nrg'ed  the  necessity 
of  lia\'ing'  a  few  g"oocl  laws  well  enforced.  He  encouraged  the 
liberal  fostering  of  education,  both  primary  and  secondary.  He 
recommended  to  tlie  Legislature  the  need  of  a  law  rendering 
newspaper  editors  more  responsible  for  their  utterances,  and  in 
closing,  appealed  to  th^  public  spirit  of  the  citizens  to  labor  for  the 
interests  of  the  whole  Commonwealth.  He  said :  ''Pittsburg 
must  aid  Philadeli)hia  to  find  an  outlet  to  the  sea,  as  Antwerp, 
Glasgow,  Manchester,  and  other  inland  towns  have  done  before, 
and  Philadelphia  must  aid  Pittsburg  in  her  efTort  to  unite  the  vast 
population  of  the  head  waters  of  the  Ohio  and  to  outdo  the  chief 
city  of  the  west,  and  both  must  be  not  for  themselves  alone,  but  for 
the  good  of  the  State  and  its  people.'' 

^^"ith  Governcir  Pennypacker's  administration  began  a  period 
of  great  prosperity  within  the  Commonwealth.  For  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  one,  1904,  the  receipts  of  the  Treasury  amounted 
to  the  sum  of  $21,789,940.75;  while  the  payments  for  the  ex- 
penses of  the  government  were  $19,266,369.11,  leaving  a  balance 
of  receipts  over  expenditures  of  $2,523,571.64.  Notwithstanding 
the  liberal  appro]iriations  to  education,  and  the  cost  of  erecting  the 
new  State  capitol,  the  Commonwealth  is  practically  free  from  debt. 

On  April  fifteen,  1903,  the  Legislature  provided  for  a  Depart- 
ment of  State  Highways,  which  has  been  duly  organized  according 
to  the  terms  of  the  act.  There  are  at  present  completed  or  under 
construction  one  hundred  and  txA'enty-seven  miles  of  roads.  The 
State  now  owns  544,958  acres  of  land  for  forestry  reservation 
purposes,  and  is  under  contract  to  purchase  154,863  acres  more. 
The  efforts  put  forth  by  the  authorities  for  the  preservation  of  the 
forests  and  the  improvement  of  public  highways  will  certainly 
result  in  the  richest  maternal  blessings  to  the  people. 

During  the  past  two  years,  substantial  progress  has  been  made 
in  developing  the  State  Library.  The  purpose  is  to  make  the 
Library  a  depository  of  all  the  printed  material  and  manuscripts 
relating  to  the  literature,  the  history,  and  the  political  growth  of 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

the  Commonwealth.  At  the  session  of  the  Legislature  in  1903, 
the  Department  of  Public  Records  was  organized  in  connection 
with  the  Library,  for  the  purpose  of  caring  for  and  arranging  the 
State  Archives.  These  documents  are  being  arranged  in  chrono- 
logical order,  and  twenty-two  volumes  have  already  been 
completed. 

The  work  of  the  Valley  Forge  Commission  has  been  carried 
forward  w-ith  commendable  zeal  and  three  hundred  and  ninety-two 
acres  of  the  camp  ground  have  been  purchased,  the  object  being 
to  establish  a  permanent  State  park.  Governor  Pennypacker 
refers  to  this  subject  in  his  message  of  January  three,  1905,  as 
follows :  "The  acquisition  of  these  lands  and  the  establishment 
there  of  a  park  to  be  forever  maintained  and  cared  for  by  the 
State,  where  all  the  people  of  the  nation  may  come  to  gather 
inspiration  from  the  fortitude  of  the  fathers,  were  very  commen- 
dable and  show  a  proper  appreciation  of  a  priceless  possession. 
Much  has  there  been  accomplished  by  the  commission  at  compara- 
tively little  expense.  Avenues  have  been  laid  out  and  views 
improved,  so  that  nowhere  in  the  country  can  be  found  surround- 
ings more  attractive  to  visitors.  The  number  of  persons  from  at 
home  and  abroad  wdio  go  there  is  continually  increasing." 

The  State  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  Louisiana  Purchase 
Exposition  held  in  St.  Louis  in  1904.  The  Pennsylvania  building- 
erected  on  the  exposition  grounds  was  commodious  and  impres- 
sive, and  cost  ninety-six  thousand  dollars.  Among  the  decora- 
tions w^ere  forty-four  portraits  in  oil  of  the  leading  personages  in 
the  history  of  Pennsylvania,  many  of  which  have  been  retained  for 
the  new  capitol.  On  August  twenty.  Pennsylvania  day  was  cele- 
l)rated  at  the  exposition,  when  an  effort  was  made  to  impress  upon 
the  nation  the  importance  of  this  State  in  the  settlement  of  the 
West. 

Great  interest  was  aroused  throughout  the  State  by  the  enact- 
ment of  the  huv  in  1903,  requiring  newspapers  to  exercise  reason- 
able care  with  respect  to  what  they  published,  and  further  requir- 


HASTINGS.  STONE,  AND   PENNYPACKER 

ing  iheni  to  ])riiit  upon  tlic  editorial  page  the  names  of  tliose 
resp(jnsil)le  for  the  puhhcation.  This  law  was  regarded  in  many 
quarters  as  an  inxasion  of  tlie  lil)erty  <'f  the  press.  Notwithstand- 
ing this,  however,  the  (iovernor  in  his  message  to  the  Legislature, 
January  three,  1905,  urged  further  legislation  on  the  subject  in 
order  to  sujipress  newspaper  cartoons  and  attacks  upon  jjuhlic 
officials.  The  Legislature  has  refrained,  howexer.  froiu  placing 
additional  restraints  upon  this  ancient  privilege. 

A  new  interest  has  been  aroused  in  the  administration  of  city 
governuient,  not  only  in  Pennsylvania,  but  throughout  the  LTuited 
States  at  large.  A  law  was  enacted  by  the  Legislature  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  the  session  of  1905,  curtailing  the  power  of  the  mayor 
in  cities  of  the  first  class,  by  giving  city  councils  the  authority  of 
electing  the  directors  of  pul)lic  safety  and  public  works.  Although 
this  law  would  not  become  operative  until  i()07,  it  had  a  direct 
effect  upon  Philadelphia,  resulting  in  a  political  upheaval,  in  whicli 
Mayor  Weaver  removed  many  city  officials,  and  appointed  other 
men  in  harmony  with  his  own  views. 

The  history  of  Pennsylvania  is  thus  written  down  to  the 
])rcsent  time— a  record  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-se\'en  years,  from 
the  first  settlement  by  the  Swedes  in  1638.  The  subject  is  one  of 
peculiar  interest,  whether  considered  from  the  point  of  view  of 
a  proprietary  colony,  a  centre  of  revolutionary  activity,  or  a  great 
commonwealth  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Stirring  scenes  and 
events  crowd  the  distant  past,  while  on  every  hand  there  are 
enduring  monuments  of  the  great  founder's  wisdom.  The  richest 
legacy  bequeathed  by  Penn,  however,  is  his  lesson  on  the  nature  of 
good  government.  He  said :  "Governments,  like  clocks,  go 
from  the  motion  men  give  them,  and  as  governments  are  made 
and  moved  by  men,  so  by  them  they  are  ruined,  too.  Wherefore 
governments  rather  depend  upon  men,  than  men  upon  govern- 
ments. Let  men  be  good,  and  the  government  cannot  be  bad ;  if 
it  be  ill,  they  will  cure  it.     But  if  men  be  bad,  let  the  government 

223 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

be  never  so  good,  they  will  endeavor  to  warp  and  spoil  to  their 
turn."  These  words  are  just  as  applicable  to-day  as  they  were 
when  written  more  than  two  centuries  ago ;  and  if  wisely  followed 
they  will  give  permanence  to  our  institutions,  and  secure  the 
welfare  of  the  people  for  ages  to  come. 


224 


CHAPTER  X 
NATURAL  RESOURCES.     IRON 

IN  the  following  pages  only  the  earliest  iron  and  steel  enter- 
prises in  the  eastern,  central,  and  western  sections  of  Penn- 
sylvania will  be  specifically  mentioned,  following  which  his- 
torical survey  will  be  presented  a  statistical  summary  of  the  pres- 
ent development  of  the  important  iron  and  steel  industries  of  this 
great  Commonwealth.  The  early  settlers  of  Pennsylvania  were 
encouraged  to  engage  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  because  they 
found  existing  everywdiere  all  the  conditions  necessary  to  its  eco- 
nomical production — iron  ore  in  abundance,  limestone  for  use  in 
the  blast  furnace,  the  forests  to  furnish  fuel,  and  the  streams  to 
supply  water  power.  Wherever  they  went  they  set  up  small  fur- 
naces and  forges  almost  as  soon  as  they  supplied  themselves  with 
saw  mills  and  grist  mills. 

Two  years  before  the  death  of  William  Penn  in  1718  the  first 
iron  works  were  established  in  Pennsylvania.  The  event  is  briefly 
described  in  one  of  Jonathan  Dickinson's  letters,  written  in  171 7, 
and  quoted  by  Mrs.  James  in  her  "Memorial  of  Thomas  Potts, 
Junior:"  "This  last  summer  one  Thomas  Rutter,  a  smith,  who 
lives  not  far  from  Germantown,  hath  removed  further  up  in  the 
country  and  of  his  own  strength  hath  set  upon  making  iron. 
Such  it  proves  to  be,  as  is  highly  set  by  by  all  the  smiths  here,  who 
say  that  the  best  of  Sweed's  iron  doth  not  exceed  it;  and  we  have 
accounts  of  others  that  are  going  on  with  iron  works."  Putter's 
enterprise  was  a  bloomary  forge,  which  was  probably  called  Pool 

3-1 5  225 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

forge,  the  exact  location  of  which  is  uncertain,  but  it  was  on 
Manatawny  creek,  and  probably  about  three  miles  above  Potts- 
town.  The  forge  was  sometimes  known  as  Manatawny  forge. 
In  the  Philadelphia  "Weekly  Mercury"  for  November  i,  1720, 
Thomas  Fare,  a  Welshman,  is  said  to  have  run  away  from 
"the  forge  at  Manatawny."  Mrs.  James  visited  the  spot  it  is  sup- 
posed to  have  occupied,  "and  could  see  some  remains  of  the  dam 
and  an  excavation  in  the  bank  where  buildings  once  stood."  An- 
other Pool  forge  is  known  to  have  existed  farther  up  the  stream, 
probably  built  after  the  first  one  was  abandoned.  This  Pool  forge 
was  attacked  by  the  Indians  in  1728,  who  were  repulsed.  In  his 
"History  of  American  Manufactures"  Bishop  says :  "A  forge  is 
mentioned  in  March,  1719-20,  at  Manatawny,  then  in  Philadel- 
phia, but  now  in  Berks  or  Montgomery,  county."  This  reference 
is  to  Pool  forge. 

Mrs.  James  says  that  Rutter  was  an  English  Quaker,  who 
was  a  resident  of  Philadelphia  in  1685,  ^^^  "^^ho  removed  in  1714 
from  Germantown  "forty  miles  up  the  Schuylkill  in  order  to  work 
the  iron  mines  of  the  Manatawny  region."  She  gives  a  verbatim 
copy  of  the  original  patent  of  William  Penn  to  Thomas  Rutter 
for  300  acres  of  land  "on  Manatawny  creek,"  dated  February  12, 
1714-15.  The  following  obituary  notice  in  the  "Pennsylvania  Ga- 
zette," published  at  Philadelphia,  dated  March  5  to  March  13, 
1729-30,  ought  to  be  conclusive  proof  of  the  priority  of  Thomas 
Putter's  enterprise:  "Philadelphia,  March  13.  On  Sunday  night 
last  died  here  Thomas  Rutter,  Senior,  of  a  short  illness.  He  was 
the  -first  that  erected  an  iron  zvork  in  Pennsylvania."  In  his  will, 
which  we  have  examined,  he  is  styled  a  blacksmith. 

In  Day's  "Historical  Collections"  mention  is  made  by  a  his- 
torian of  Chester  county  of  Samuel  Nutt,  an  English  Quaker, 
who  built  a  forge  called  Coventry,  in  the  northern  part  of  Chester 
county,  which  "went  into  operation  about  the  year  1720"  and 
made  "the  first  iron"  manufactured  in  Pennsylvania,  which  latter 
statement  is  an  error.     Another  historian  of  Chester  county  con- 

226 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

tributes  to  Egle's  "History  of  Pennsylvania"  the  information 
that  Samuel  Nutt  "took  up  land,  on  French  creek,  in  1717,  and 
about  that  time  built  a  forge  there.  A  letter  written  by  him  in 
1720  mentions  an  intention  of  erecting  another  forge  that  fall." 
Mrs.  James  states  that  Nutt  purchased  800  acres  of  land  at  Cov- 
entry in  October,  1718.  Nutt  probably  made  iron  at  Coventry 
forge  in  17 18.  Bishop  refers  to  a  letter  written  by  Dickinson  in 
July,  1 7 18,  stating  that  "the  expectations  from  the  iron  works 
forty  miles  up  Schuylkill  are  very  great."  In  April,  17 19,  Dickin- 
son again  wrote :  "Our  iron  promises  well.  What  hath  been  sent 
over  to  England  hath  been  greatly  approved.  Our  smiths  work  up 
all  they  make,  and  it  is  as  good  as  the  best  Swedish  iron."  Dick- 
inson probably  referred  to  Nutt's  forge  as  well  as  to  Rutter's. 

Coventry  forge  was  in  operation  in  1756.  In  1770  it  is  noted 
on  William  Scull's  map  of  Pennsylvania.  It  was  in  active  opera- 
tion after  the  Revolution,  and  in  1849  ^"^  1856  we  again  find  it 
active,  making  blooms  from  pig  iron.  It  made  its  last  iron  in 
1870.     The  foundations  of  the  old  forge  may  still  be  seen. 

The  next  iron  enterprise  in  Pennsylvania  was  undoubtedly 
Colebrookdale  furnace,  which  was  built  about  1720  by  a  company 
of  which  Thomas  Rutter  was  the  principal  member.  It  was 
located  on  Ironstone  creek,  in  Colebrookdale  township,  Berks 
county,  about  eight  miles  north  of  Pottstown  and  three-fourths 
of  a  mile  west  of  Boyertown.  Plenty  of  cinder  now  marks  the 
exact  site.  A  large  flour  and  saw  mill  stands  about  one  hundred 
feet  distant.  This  furnace  supplied  Pool  forge  with  pig  iron, 
and  in  course  of  time  other  forges,  one  of  which  was  Pine  forge, 
to  be  referred  to  hereafter.  The  Colebrookdale  company  appears 
to  have  been  composed  of  Thomas  Rutter,  James  Lewis,  Anthony 
Morris,  and  others,  Rutter  owning  at  his  death  a  two-thirds 
interest,  as  is  shown  by  his  will,  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  register 
of  wills  in  Philadelphia. 

In  1 73 1,  according  to  Mrs.  James,  Colebrookdale  furnace  and 
Pool  forge  were  both  owned  by  companies.    In  the  list  of  owners  of 

227 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

both  enterprises  appears  the  name  of  Thomas  Potts,  the  founder 
of  a  family  of  the  same  name  which  has  ever  since  been  prom- 
inent in  the  manufacture  of  iron  in  Pennsylvania  and  in  other 
States.  He  died  at  Colebrookdale  in  January,  1752.  He  was  in 
his  day  the  most  successful  iron  manufacturer  in  Pennsylvania. 
In  his  will,  dated  1747,  he  leaves  his  "two-thirds  of  Colebrook- 
dale furnace  and  iron  mines"  to  his  son  Thomas  and  his  "one- 
third  of  Pine  forge"  to  his  son  John.  He  was  of  either  English 
or  Welsh  lineage.  In  1733  the  furnace  was  torn  down  and 
rebuilt  by  the  company,  Thomas  Potts  being  the  manager. 

It  would  seem  that  friendly  Indians  were  employed  at  Cole- 
brookdale furnace,  as  "Indian  John"  and  "Margalitha"  are  found 
in  the  list  of  workmen  about  1728.  A  stove-plate  cast  at  this 
furnace  in  1763,  and  so  inscribed,  was  exhibited  at  the  Philadel- 
phia Exhibition  of  1876.  In  1731  pig  iron  sold  at  Colebrookdale 
furnace  "in  large  quantities"  at  £5  los.  per  ton,  Pennsylvania  cur- 
rency, a  pound  being  equal  to  $2.66  2-3. 

Soon  after  Nutt  had  built  his  forge  at  Coventry  it  is  believed 
that  he  built  a  furnace  on  French  creek,  called  "Redding."  Mrs. 
James  places  the  date  of  its  erection  at  about  1720.  It  is  probable 
that  it  was  the  second  furnace  in  the  State,  Colebrookdale  being 
the  first.     Samuel  Nutt  died  in  1737. 

Redmond  Conyngham,  quoted  in  Day's  "Historical  Collec- 
tions," says  that  iron  works  are  supposed  to  have  been  established 
in  Lancaster  county  in  1726  by  a  person  named  Kurtz,  who  is 
said  by  another  authority  to  have  been  an  Amish  Mennonite.  In 
Egle's  "History  of  Pennsylvania"  it  is  stated  that  Kurtz's  works 
were  on  Octorara  creek.  They  may  have  been  built  in  Maryland, 
just  below  the  Pennsylvania  line. 

Durham  furnace,  on  Durham  creek,  about  one  and  a  half 
miles  above  its  entrance  into  the  Delaware  river  in  the  extreme 
northern  part  of  Bucks  county,  was  built  in  1727  by  a  company 
of  fourteen  persons,  of  which  Anthony  Morris,  William  Allen, 
Joseph  Turner,  and  James  Logan  (Penn's  secretary)  were  mem- 

228 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

bers.  In  the  consolidated  exhibit  of  the  iron  works  of  the  Lehigh 
valley  at  the  Philadelphia  Exhibition  in  1876  the  keystone  of  the 
Durham  furnace,  bearing  date  1727,  was  an  interesting  feature. 
The  furnace  was  between  35  and  40  feet  square  and  about  30  feet 
high.  From  the  first  this  furnace  made  pig  iron  to  be  converted 
into  bar  iron,  although  subsequently,  as  early  as  1741,  stoves  were 
cast  at  the  furnace  in  large  quantities.  There  were  three  early 
forges  on  Durham  creek,  all  below  the  furnace,  and  these  and 
many  other  forges  in  the  neighborhood,  on  both  sides  of  the  Del- 
aware, were  supplied  with  pig  iron  from  this  furnace. 

As  late  as  1780  negro  slaves  were  employed  at  Durham,  five 
of  whom  in  that  year  escaped  to  the  British  lines.  Much  of  the 
iron  made  at  Durham  was  taken  to  Philadelphia  in  boats  fash- 
ioned somewhat  like  an  Indian  canoe  but  much  larger,  and  first 
built  at  Durham ;  hence  the  term  afterwards  in  common  use,  Dur- 
ham boats.  Large  quantities  of  shot  and  shells  for  the  Conti- 
nental army  were  made  at  Durham  furnace.  The  furnace  was  in 
active  operation  until  1791,  with  occasional  intervals  of  suspension 
from  various  causes,  when  it  blew  out  finally. 

In  1728  there  were  four  furnaces  in  blast  in  Pennsylvania,  one 
of  which  was  certainly  Colebrookdale.  Another  was  Durham. 
The  others  were  probably  Sir  William  Keith's,  on  Christiana 
creek,  in  the  present  State  of  Delaware,  and  Samuel  Nutt's  Read- 
ing furnace  on  French  creek.  In  November,  1728,  James  Logan 
shipped  three  tons  of  Durham  pig  iron  to  England.  In  1728-9 
Pennsylvania  exported  274  tons  of  pig  iron  to  the  mother  coun- 
try. Other  furnaces  and  forges  in  Pennsylvania  followed  in  rapid 
succession  those  already  mentioned. 

Warwick  furnace  was  commenced  in  1737  by  the  heirs  of 
Samuel  Nutt,  and  was  built  on  the  south  branch  of  French  creek, 
in  Chester  county.  It  was  probably  finished  in  1738.  In  1740 
its  management  fell  into  the  hands  of  Robert  Grace,  a  friend  of 
Benjamin  Franklin,  who  had  recently  married  the  widow  of  Sam- 
uel Nutt,  Jr.     This  lady  was  the  granddaughter  of  Thomas  Rut- 

229 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

ter.  The  celebrated  Franklin  stove  was  invented  by  Franklin  in 
1742,  and  in  his  autobiography  he  says:  "I  made  a  present  of 
the  model  to  Mr.  Robert  Grace,  one  of  my  early  friends,  who, 
having  an  iron  furnace,  found  the  casting  of  the  plates  for  these 
stoves  a  profitable  thing,  as  they  were  growing  in  demand."  Mrs. 
James  has  seen  one  of  these  stoves,  with  the  words  "Warwick 
Furnace"  cast  on  the  front  in  letters  two  inches  long. 

Warwick  furnace  continued  in  active  operation  during  a  part 
of  almost  every  year  from  its  erection  in  1738  down  to  1867, 
when  its  last  blast  came  to  an  end  and  the  famous  furnace  was 
abandoned.  During  the  Revolution  it  was  very  active  in  casting 
cannon  for  the  Continental  army,  some  of  which  were  buried  upon 
the  approach  of  the  British  in  1777  and  have  only  recently  been 
recovered.  Sixty  cannon  were  cast  at  this  furnace  in  1776.  There 
is  now  among  the  relics  in  Independence  Hall,  Philadelphia,  a 
cast-iron  bell  which  was  cast  at  Warwick  furnace  in  1757  and 
used  at  Valley  forge  in  1777. 

In  1740  or  1 74 1  William  Bird  built  a  forge  on  Hay  creek, 
near  its  entrance  into  the  Schuylkill,  where  Birdsboro  now  stands, 
in  Berks  county.  Hopewell  furnace,  on  French  creek,  in  Union 
township,  Berks  county,  is  said  by  tradition  to  have  been  built  by 
William  Bird  in  1759,  but  it  may  have  been  built  by  his  son,  Mark 
Bird,  about  1765.  As  early  as  1760  William  Bird  built  Rox- 
borough  furnace,  in  Heidelberg  township,  Berks  county,  the  name 
of  which  furnace  was  subsequently  changed  to  Berkshire.  Berk- 
shire furnace  manufactured  shot  and  shells  for  the  Continental 
army. 

As  early  as  1742  John  Taylor  built  a  forge  on  Chester  creek, 
in  Thornbury  township,  Delaware  county,  where  Glen  Mills 
now  stand,  which  he  called  Sarum  iron  works.  In  1746  he  added 
a  rolling  and  slitting  mill.  These  works  are  said  to  have  been 
carried  on  with  energy  by  Mr.  Taylor  until  his  death  in  1756. 
Acrelius,  writing  about  the  time  of  Mr.  Taylor's  death,  says : 
"Sarum  belongs  to  Taylor's  heirs,  has  three  stacks,  and  is  in  full 

230 


George  Mifflin  Dallas 


United  States  senator,  1831-1833;  attorney-gen- 
eral of  Pennsylvania,  1833-1835;  minister  to 
Russia,  1837-1839;  vice-president  of  the  United 
States,  1845-1849;  minister  to  Great  Britain, 
1856-1861 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

blast."  Taylor's  rolling  and  slitting  mill  was  the  first  in  Pennsyl- 
vania.    The  works  were  in  operation  until  after  the  Revolution. 

There  was  a  forge  on  Crum  creek,  about  two  miles  above  the 
town  of  Chester,  in  Delaware  county,  which  was  built  by  John 
Crosby  and  Peter  Dicks  about  1742.  Peter  Kalm,  the  Swede,  in 
his  "Travels  into  North  America,"  written  in  1748  and  1749, 
thus  describes  it :  "About  two  English  miles  behind  Chester  I 
passed  by  an  iron  forge,  which  was  to  the  right  hand  by  the  road 
side.  It  belonged  to  two  brothers,  as  I  was  told.  The  ore,  how- 
ever, is  not  dug  here,  but  thirty  or  forty  miles  from  hence,  where 
it  is  first  melted  in  the  oven  and  then  carried  to  this  place.  The 
bellows  were  made  of  leather,  and  both  they  and  the  hammers 
and  even  the  hearth  [were]  but  small  in  proportion  to  ours.  All 
the  machines  w^ere  worked  by  water.  The  iron  was  wrought 
into  bars." 

Peter  Kalm  states  that  at  Chichester  (Marcus  Hook)  "they 
build  here  every  year  a  number  of  small  ships  for  sale,  and  from 
an  iron  work  which  lies  higher  up  in  the  country  they  carry  iron 
bars  to  this  place  and  ship  them." 

In  1743  William  Branson,  of  Philadelphia,  erected  two  forges 
on  Conestoga  creek,  near  Churchtown,  in  Lancaster  county,  which 
he  called  Windsor,  and  which  w'tre  famous  forges  in  their  day. 

Charming  forge,  on  Tulpehocken  creek,  in  Berks  county,  was 
built  in  1749.  It  was  at  first  styled  Tulpehocken  Eisen  Hammer. 
In  1774  it  was  purchased  by  George  Ege.  About  1777  Mr.  Ege 
purchased  from  Congress  the  services  of  thirty-four  Hessian  pris- 
oners, for  the  purpose  of  cutting  a  channel  through  a  bed  of  rock 
to  supply  with  water  power  a  slitting  mill  which  he  had  previously 
erected.  The  mill-race  was  about  100  yards  long,  from  12  to  20 
feet  deep,  and  about  20  feet  wide,  and  was  cut  through  a  mass  of 
solid  slate  rock  as  smoothly  as  if  dc^ne  with  a  broad-axe.  It  was 
used  until  1887,  when  the  forge  was  abandoned. 

In  1 75 1  we  find  a  forge  called  Mount  Joy,  at  the  mouth  of 
East  Valley  creek,  on  the  Chester  county  side  of  the  creek,  one- 

233 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

third  of  which  was  advertised  for  sale  on  the  4th  of  April  of  that 
year  by  Daniel  Walker  and  the  remaining  two-thirds  on  the  26th 
of  September  of  the  same  year  by  Stephen  Evans  and  Joseph 
Williams.  In  Daniel  Walker's  advertisement  it  was  stated  that 
the  forge  was  "not  so  far  distant  from  three  furnaces."  Penny- 
packer,  in  his  "Annals  of  Phoenixville  and  its  Vicinity,"  says 
that  the  ancestor  of  the  Walker  family  had  come  from  England 
with  William  Penn  and  "at  a  very  early  date  had  erected  the 
small  forge  on  the  Valley  creek."  It  is  clear,  however,  that  in 
1 75 1  Daniel  Walker  owned  only  one-third  of  the  forge,  Evans 
and  Williams  owning  the  remainder.  In  1757,  as  we  learn  from 
Mrs.  James,  the  forge  was  sold  to  John  Potts  by  the  executors  of 
Stephen  Evans.  In  1773  ^^  was  owned  by  Joseph  Potts,  at  which 
time  it  continued  to  be  legally  designated  as  Mount  Joy  forge, 
although  for  some  time  previously  it  had  been  popularly  known 
as  Valley  forge.  In  that  year  Joseph  Potts  sold  one-half  of  the 
forge  to  Colonel  William  Dewees.  The  forge  was  destroyed  by 
the  British  in  1777,  just  prior  to  Washington's  occupation  of  the 
vicinity  for  winter  quarters.  It  was  rebuilt  after  the  Revolution 
on  the  Montgomery  side  of  the  creek,  probably  by  David  and 
Isaac  Potts. 

In  his  "History  of  New  Sweden"  Israel  Acrelius,  who  resided 
in  this  country  from  1750  to  1756,  says:  "Pennsylvania,  in  re- 
gard to  its  iron  works,  is  the  most  advanced  of  all  the  American 
colonies." 

At  an  uncertain  period  before  1750  William  Branson  and 
others  established  on  French  creek  the  Vincent  steel  works  for 
the  manufacture  of  cemented  steel.  Acrelius  describes  them,  but 
they  were  not  active  at  the  time  of  his  visit.  Mrs.  James  says  that 
they  were  the  first  steel  works  in  Pennsylvania  and  were  built  by 
Samuel  Nutt  prior  to  1734,  but  William  Branson  was  probably 
associated  with  him  in  this  enterprise.  Branson  appears  to  have 
owned  the  works  in  1737.  Samuel  Nutt,  in  his  will,  written  in 
that  }'ear,  makes  no  mention  of  them.     About  1736  Nutt  and 

234 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

Branson  built  a  new  Reading  furnace.  Acrelius  says :  "At 
French  creek,  or  Branz's  works,  there  is  a  steel  furnace,  built 
with  a  draught-hole,  and  called  an  'air-oven.'  In  this  iron  bars 
are  set  at  the  distance  of  an  inch  apart.  Between  them  are  scat- 
tered horn,  coal-dust,  ashes,  etc.    The  iron  bars  are  thus  covered 


William  Bigler 

Editor;  elected  State  senator,  1841 ;  governor, 
1851-54;  United  States  senator,  1855;  delegate- 
at-large  to  State  Constitutional  Convention, 
1873 

with  blisters,  and  this  is  called  'blister-steel.'  It  serves  as  the  best 
steel  to  put  upon  edge-tools.  These  steel  works  are  now  said  to 
be  out  of  operation." 

In  1750  there  was  a  "plating  forge  to  work  with  a  tilt-ham- 
mer" in  Byberry  township,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Philadel- 
phia county,  the  only  one  in  the  province,  owned  by  John  Hall, 
but  not  then  in  use.  In  the  same  year  there  were  two  steel  fur- 
naces in  Philadelphia,  one  of  which,  Stephen  Paschall's,  was  built 


235 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

in  1747  and  stood  on  a  lot  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Eighth  and 
Wahiut  streets;  the  other  furnace  was  owned  by  Wilham  Bran- 
son and  was  located  near  where  Thomas  Penn  "first  lived,  at  the 
upper  end  of  Chestnut  street."  These  furnaces  were  for  the  pro- 
duction of  blister  steel.  There  appear  to  have  been  no  other  steel 
furnaces  in  the  province  in  1750.  The  Vincent  steel  works  had 
probably  been  abandoned  at  this  time. 

Elizabeth  furnace,  near  Brickersville,  on  a  tributary  of  Cones- 
toga  creek,  in  Lancaster  county,  was  built  about  1750  by  John 
Ruber,  a  German.  In  1757  Ruber  sold  it  to  Renry  William 
Stiegel  and  his  partners,  who  built  a  new  and  larger  furnace, 
which  was  operated  until  1775,  when  it  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Daniel  Benezet,  who  leased  it  to  Robert  Coleman,  who  subse- 
quently bought  it  and  who  was  for  many  years  the  most  promi- 
nent ironmaster  in  Pennsylvania. 

After  Elizabeth  furnace  came  into  the  possession  of  Robert 
Coleman  he  made  shot  and  shells  for  the  Continental  army,  and 
some  of  the  transactions  which  occurred  between  him  and  the 
Government  in  settlement  of  his  accounts  for  these  supplies  are 
very  interesting.  Under  date  of  October  26,  1780,  the  follow- 
ing entry  is  made  by  Mr.  Coleman  to  the  credit  of  the  United 
States:  "By  cash,  received  of  William  Thorne,  Pay-Master, 
107,319,15-90  dolls,  old  emission,  exchange  73  for  one, 
£551,5,11."  In  August,  1781,  another  credit  is  entered  of  "328 
dolls.,  new  emission,  three  for  one,"  which  shows  an  apprecia- 
tion of  the  currency.  Two  months  later  exchange  was  at  two 
and  a  half  for  one.  On  November  16,  1782,  appears  the  fol- 
lowing entry :  "By  cash,  being  the  value  of  42  German  prisoners 
of  war,  at  £30  each,  £1,260;"  and  on  June  14,  1783,  the  follow- 
ing: "By  cash,  being  the  value  of  28  German  prisoners  of  war, 
at  £30  each,  £840."  In  a  foot  note  to  these  credits  Robert  Cole- 
man certifies  "on  honour"  that  the  above  70  prisoners  were  all 
that  were  ever  secured  by  him,  one  of  whom  being  returned  is  to 
be  deducted  when  he  produces  the  proper  voucher. 

236 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

Martic  forge,  on  Teqiiea  creek,  near  the  present  village  of 
Coleman ville,  in  Lancaster  county,  was  built  in  1755,  and  was 
last  in  operation  in  1883.  Robert  S.  Potts,  one  of  the  last 
owners  of  this  forge,  who  died  in  1886,  wrote  us  in  that  year: 
"There  used  to  be  a  small  rolling  mill  near  the  forge  that  stopped 
running  some  fifty  years  ago.  There  was  also  a  charcoal  fur- 
nace called  Martic  six  miles  east  of  the  forge.  The  old  cinder 
bank  is  still  visible.  During  the  Revolution  round  iron  was 
drawn  under  the  hammer  at  the  forge  and  bored  out  for  musket 
barrels  at  a  boring  mill,  in  a  very  retired  spot,  on  a  small  stream 
far  off  from  any  public  road,  doubtless  with  a  view  to  prevent  dis- 
covery by  the  enemy.  The  site  is  still  visible."  Negro  slaves 
were  employed  from  the  beginning  in  hammering  iron  at  Martic 
forge,  and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  negroes  continued  to  be  the 
principal  workmen  down  to  the  abandonment  of  active  operations 
in  1883.  The  forge  was  finally  abandoned  in  1886.  A  long 
row  of  stone  houses  was  occupied  by  the  negro  workmen. 

Cornwall  furnace,  built  by  Peter  Grubb  in  1742,  was  located 
within  the  limits  of  the  since  celebrated  Cornwall  ore  hills,  in 
Lebanon  county.  The  Cornwall  ore  hills  were  conveyed  by 
John  Penn,  Thomas  Penn,  and  Richard  Penn,  proprietors-in- 
chief  of  the  province  of  Pennsylvania  and  counties  of  Newcastle, 
Kent,  and  Sussex  on  the  Delaware,  by  their  warrant  dated  Lon- 
don, May  8,  1732,  to  Joseph  Turner,  of  Philadelphia,  for  five 
hundred  pounds,  money  of  Pennsylvania.  The  grant  embraced 
300  acres.  Turner  assigned  the  entire  tract  to  William  Allen, 
April  5,  1734,  and  on  the  28th  and  29th  of  November,  1737, 
Allen  assigned  the  same  to  Peter  Grubb,  to  whom  a  patent  was 
issued  August  2,  1745.  Peter  Grubb  died  intestate  about  1754, 
and  his  estate  descended  to  his  sons  Curtis  Grubb  and  Peter 
Grubb,  Curtis  receiving  two-thirds  under  the  intestate  law  of 
that  day  and  Peter  one-third.  Both  sons  were  colonels  in  the 
Revolution.  On  June  28,  1783,  Curtis  conveyed  a  one-sixth  in- 
terest to  Peter  Grubb,  Jr.,  his  son. 

237 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

By  articles  of  agreement,  dated  September  26,  1785,  Peter 
Grubb,  Jr.,  grandson  of  the  first-named  Peter  Grubb,  and  son  of 
Curtis  Grubb,  sold  to  Robert  Coleman  his  share  of  the  Cornv/all 
ore  hills,  Cornwall  furnace,  and  appurtenances,  reserving  the 
right  for  a  sufficient  quantity  of  ore  for  one  furnace,  which  right 
is  held  and  exercised  to-day  by  the  proprietors  of  Robesonia  fur- 
nace, in  Berks  county.     The  deed  for  the  share  sold  to  Robert 


Butler 


From   an  old  print 


Coleman,  signed  by  Peter  Grubb,  Jr.,  and  Mary,  his  wife,  is 
dated  May  9,  1786.  After  that  year  Robert  Coleman,  through 
successive  purchases  from  the  Grubbs,  acquired  four  additional 
sixths  of  the  property  originally  conveyed  by  the  Penns  to  Joseph 
Turner.  At  his  death  in  1825  his  estate  was  devised  to  his  four 
sons,  and  subsequently,  under  various  partitions,  the  interest  of 
Robert  Coleman  was  vested  in  his  grandsons,  Robert  and  G. 
Dawson  Coleman,  and  in  the  heirs  of  his  grandsons,  William  and 
Robert  W.  Coleman,  while  one-sixth  still  continued  in  1876  as 
the  property  of  the  descendants  of  Peter  Grubb.  Neither  the 
Coleman  nor  the  Grubb  family  limited  its  operations  to  the  Corn- 
wall "ore  banks  and  mine  hills,"  but  each  became  the  owner  of 
many  other  iron  properties. 


238 


;    COLONIAT.    &    FEDERAL 

>s  was  one  r.i  \vx  signcrt^  or  uit;  I't-ciaKUi  )!i  !,>i  lude- 

About   1765  a  furnace  and   forge  were  erected  by 

ii  Bennett  on  tbr  south  side  of  Codorus  creek,  near  its 

.    '     ;'        "•       ehanna,    in  •  Hellani    township,    York 

in  operation  during  the  Revolution. 

.orks  were  known  as  Codonis  forgt 

L'mc  Uro\ij  :!i:iiace,  in  Cumberland  county,  was  buiit  ni  J770 


n  about  1840 

'    nm  an  old  print 

by  Thorm,  ..,..,,;  i^rnace  was 

built  at  B'  n  this  c  'le  nucleus  of 

the  Carlisle  ir  .  which  afl  H  1782,  included 

a  forge,  a  roii  '  -ng  mill,  u   ■;  u  ^.w..  furnace. 

During  tin  .  the  Continental  Congress  established 

and  maintained  an  armory  at  Carlisle,  where  muskets,  swords, 
and  "wrought  iron  ("v—  -  f  great  strength"-  were  manufac- 
tured. In  1776,  and  .  'Ut  the  war,  anthracite  coal  was 
taken  in  arks  from  the  \\  yoming  mines  above  Wilkes-Barre  down 
the  Susquehanna  to  the  armory  at  Carlisle.  The  first  cargo  sent 
down  the  Susquehanna  is  said  to  have  constituted  the  first  ship- 
ment of  anthracite  coal  that  was  made  in  this  country, 

240 


A^ 


'i/>/tyXi^M. iy  ■yA'--f^>vt>ayt>vrt<tt.    //^/intfa/  y'i/M.i/uw/. ■4/j.i'rM6/>»,_  PA^j/n. , 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

The  early  Pennsylvania  furnaces  made  from  ten  to  twenty- 
five  tons  of  pig  iron  or  castings  in  a  week,  the  highest  limit  being 
seldom  attained.  As  all  furnaces  were  blown  by  water  power, 
which  often  failed  in  the  summer  season,  a  fair  yield  by  an  or- 
dinary furnace  in  a  year  was  500  tons  of  iron.  The  size  of  the 
furnaces  seldom  exceeded  twenty-five  feet  in  height  and  seven 
feet  in  width  at  the  bosh.  The  fuel  used  was  exclusively  charcoal 
and  the  blast  was  always  cold.  Only  one  tuyere  was  used.  Leather 
bellows  were  at  first  used,  but  wooden  bellows,  or  tubs,  were  after- 
wards substituted.  These  tubs  were  still  in  use  in  connection 
with  some  of  our  oldest  furnaces  as  late  as  1878.  Warwick  and 
Cornwall  furnaces  were  each  over  thirty  feet  high.  They  retained 
their  long  leather  bellows  until  the  nineteenth  century.  These 
and  some  other  furnaces  each  yielded  as  much  as  1,000  tons  of  pig 
iron  and  castings  annually.  Pig  iron  sold  at  about  $15  a  ton  at 
the  furnace.  Castings  cost  about  twice  as  much  as  pig  iron. 
The  forges  made  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  bar 
iron  in  a  year,  which  sold  at  from  $75  to  $100  a  ton. 

Most  of  the  bar  iron  made  in  the  eighteenth  century  in  Penn- 
sylvania was  hammered  at  the  forges  out  of  blooms  made  from 
pig  iron.  But  little  was  made  from  blooms  produced  in  the 
iDloomary  fire  directly  from  the  ore,  as  was  the  New  England  and 
New  Jersey  custom.  The  Pennsylvania  furnaces  were  also  em- 
ployed in  making  castings,  such  as  stoves,  pots,  kettles,  etc.  The 
first  bar  iron  made  in  the  province  by  Thomas  Rutter,  Samuel 
Nutt,  and  others  was  made  in  forges,  sometimes  called  bloomary 
forges,  directly  from  the  ore.  During  the  Revolution  cannon 
and  cannon  balls  were  cast  at  many  of  the  Pennsylvania  furnaces. 

The  bar  iron  and  castings  made  in  the  Schuylkill  valley  during 
the  eighteenth  century  were  taken  down  the  river  to  Philadelphia 
in  boats,  which  were  poled  back  to  their  starting  points  with  great 
labor. 

After  the  Revolution  the  manufacture  of  iron  in  Pennsyl- 
vania was  rapidly  extended  into  the  interior  of  the  State.    Bishop 

3-16  241 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

says  that  in  1786  there  were  seventeen  furnaces,  forges,  and 
shtting-mills  within  thirty-nine  miles  of  Lancaster.  About  1789 
there  were  fourteen  furnaces  and  thirty-four  forges  in  operation 
in  Pennsylvania,  according  to  a  list  published  by  Mrs.  James.  In 
1 79 1  the  number  of  furnaces  had  increased  to  sixteen  and  of 
forges  to  thirty-seven.  In  1796  the  slitting  and  rolling  mills  were 
said  to  roll  1,500  tons  per  annum.     The  articles  of  iron  and  steel 


Monument  at  Junction  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and  Delaware 

Erected  in  1849.     Engraved  for  this  work  from 
a  negative  by  D.  E.  Brinton 

manufacture  at  this  time  were  of  great  variety,  including  stoves, 
pots,  kettles,  plow  irons,  sheet  iron,  nails,  spikes,  cannon  balls, 
scythes,  axes,  saws,  etc.  At  this  period  there  were  many  fur- 
naces and  forges  in  the  Schuylkill  valley.  In  1838  there  were 
in  existence  within  a  radius  of  fifty-two  miles  of  Lancaster  102 
furnaces,  forges,  and  rolling  mills. 

The  counties  on  the  west  of  the  Susquehanna  river  contained 
many  iron  enterprises  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  In 
1805  there  were  two  forges  at  work  in  York  county,  one  of  which 
was  Spring  forge  and  the  other  was  Codorus  forge.  Castle  Fin 
forge,  at  first  called  Palmyra  forge,  on  Muddy  creek,  in  York 


243 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

county,  was  built  in  1810.  In  its  day  Castle  Fin  forge  was  a  very 
prominent  enterprise.  In  1850  there  were  five  furnaces  and  three 
forges  in  this  county. 

Liberty  forge,  on  Yellow  Breeches  creek,  in  Cumberland 
county,  was  built  in  1790  and  was  still  active  in  1876.  Other 
forges  in  Cumberland  county  were  built  prior  to  1800.  Cumber- 
land furnace,  ten  miles  southwest  of  Carlisle,  on  Yellow  Breeches 
creek,  was  built  in  1794.  Holly  furnace,  at  Papertown,  in  the 
same  county,  is  said  to  have  been  built  in  1795. 

The  first  furnace  in  Franklin  county  was  Mount  Pleasant,  in 
Path  valley,  near  Loudon,  which  was  built  in  1783  by  three 
brothers,  William,  Benjamin,  and  George  Chambers.  A  forge 
was  erected  by  them  about  the  same  time.  Soundwell  forge,  on 
Conodoguinet  creek,  at  Roxbury,  sixteen  miles  north  of  Cham- 
bersburg,  was  built  in  1798  and  was  active  as  late  as  1857.  Car- 
rick  forge,  four  miles  from  Fannettsburg,  was  built  in  1800  and 
was  in  operation  as  late  as  1856.  Carrick  furnace  was  built  at 
a  later  day.  Loudon  furnace  and  forge,  in  Franklin  county,  were 
built  about  1790  by  Colonel  James  Chambers  and  abandoned  about 
1840.  Valley  forge,  near  Loudon,  in  this  county,  was  built  in 
1804.  A  furnace  of  the  same  name  was  built  near  the  forge  at  a 
later  day.  Mont  Alto  furnace,  in  the  same  county,  was  built  in 
1807.  Two  forges  of  the  same  name,  about  four  miles  from  the 
furnace,  were  built  in  1809  and  18 10.  There  were  a  few  other 
charcoal  furnaces  and  forges  in  this  county.  Early  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  nails  and  edge  tools  were  made  in  large  quantities 
at  Chambersburg  and  in  its  vicinity. 

About  1806  Jacob  M.  Haldeman  removed  from  Lancaster 
county  to  New  Cumberland,  at  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Breeches 
creek,  on  the  Susquehanna,  in  Cumberland  county.  He  purchased 
a  forge  at  this  place  and  added  a  rolling  and  slitting  mill,  which 
were  operated  until  about  1826,  when  they  were  abandoned. 

In  1785  Henry  Fulton  established  a  "nailery"  in  Dauphin 
county,  probably  at  Harrisburg.     It  is  said  to  have  been  "only 

243 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

a  little  remote  from  a  smithy."  In  1805  there  were  two  fur- 
naces and  two  forges  in  this  county.  The  manufacture  of  iron 
had  a  very  early  beginning  in  the  Susquehanna  valley  north  of 
Harrisburg.  About  1778  a  bloomary  forge  was  built  on  Nanti- 
coke  creek,  near  the  lower  end  of  Wyoming  valley,  in  Luzerne 
county,  by  John  and  Mason  F.  Alden.  Another  bloomary  forge 
was  built  in  1789  on  the  Lackawanna  river,  about  two  miles 
above  its  mouth,  by  Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith  and  James  Sut- 
ton. Still  another  bloomary  forge  was  built  in  1799  or  1800,  on 
Roaring  brook,  at  Scranton,  then  known  as  Slocum's  Hollow,  by 
two  brothers,  Ebenezer  and  Benjamin  Slocum.  All  these  bloom- 
aries  continued  in  operation  until  about  1828.  Their  products 
were  taken  down  the  Susquehanna  in  Durham  boats. 

Esther  furnace,  about  three  miles  south  of  Catawissa,  on  East 
Roaring  creek,  in  Columbia  county,  was  built  in  1802  by  Michael 
Bitter  &  Son,  who  "cast  many  stoves."  Catawissa  furnace,  on 
Furnace  run,  near  Mainville,  in  Columbia  county,  was  built  in 
181 5  and  a  forge  was  built  at  the  same  place  in  1824,  on  Cata- 
wissa creek.  An  early  furnace  in  Lycoming  county  was  built 
in  1820,  four  miles  from  Jersey  Shore,  and  named  Pine  Creek. 
Washington  furnace,  on  Fishing  creek,  at  Lamar,  in  Clinton 
county,  was  built  in  181 1.  It  was  in  blast  in  1875.  In  a  sketch  of 
Clearfield  county  in  Egle's  "History  of  Pennsylvania"  it  is  stated 
that  "in  18 14  Peter  Karthaus,  a  native  of  Hamburg,  Germany, 
but  afterwards  a  resident  merchant  of  Baltimore,  established  a 
furnace  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Moshannon,  or  Mosquito 
creek,  in  the  lower  end  of  the  county."  This-  furnace  was  oper- 
ated with  partial  success  for  several  years. 

The  earliest  information  obtainable  of  the  erection  of  any 
iron  works  in  Mifflin  county  is  found  in  the  court  records  of  that 
county  for  August,  1795.  At  a  court  held  in  that  month  a  peti- 
tion was  presented  asking  for  a  road  "from  Freedom  forge, 
thence  the  nearest  and  best  way  to  the  river  Juniata  near  to,  or 
at,  McClellan's  landing."     The  forge  stood  on  the  present  site 

244 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

of  the  Logan  iron  and  steel  works,  at  Logan,  on  Kishacoquillas 
creek.  The  landing  mentioned  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek, 
now  within  the  limits  of  the  borough  of  Lewistown.  The  forge 
was  sold  in  1812  to  Miller,  Martin  &  Co.,  who  began  the  erection 
of  a  furnace  in  that  year.  On  November  12,  18 12,  they  adver- 
tised in  the  "Juniata  Gazette"  for  workmen,  "as  they  are  engaged 
in  building  a  furnace  at  Freedom  forge."  The  forge,  built  as 
early  as  1795,  was  continued  until  1878.  In  1832  there  were 
three  furnaces  and  one  forge  in  Mifflin  county,  and  in  1850  there 
were  five  furnaces  and  two  forges. 

In  June,  1797,  General  William  Lewis,  of  Berks  county,  be- 
gan the  purchase  of  lands  on  Brightsfield  run  and  the  Juniata 
river,  in  Mifflin  county,  intending  to  build  a  furnace.  In  a  mort- 
gage dated  June  2,  1798,  the  furnace  tract  and  ore-bank  lot  are 
mentioned.  In  1798  William  Lewis  is  assessed  on  430  acres  of 
land  and  a  furnace  as  an  ironmaster.  The  furnace  was  knbwn  as 
Hope  furnace.  In  1804  General  Lewis  built  Mt.  Vernon  forge 
on  Cocalamus  creek,  below  Millerstown,  in  Perry  county,  which 
was  operated  with  the  furnace. 

Juniata  furnace,  three  miles  from  Newport,  in  Perry  county, 
was  built  in  1808  by  David  Watts,  of  Carlisle.  There  was  a  very 
early  forge  in  Juniata  county,  built  in  1791  on  Licking  creek,  two 
miles  west  of  Mifflintown,  by  Thomas  Beale  and  William  Sterrett. 
The  pig  iron  for  this  forge  was  obtained  mainly  from  Centre  fur- 
nace, but  some  was  brought  from  Bedford  furnace. 

The  first  blast  furnace  in  the  Juniata  valley  was  Bedford  fur- 
nace, on  Black  Log  creek,  built  in  1787  or  1788  on  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  Orbisonia,  in  Huntingdon  county,  by  the  Bed- 
ford Company,  composed  of  Edward  Ridgely,  Thomas  Crom- 
well, and  George  Ashman.  It  made  from  eight  to  ten  tons  of 
pig  iron  a  week.  Lytle,  in  his  "History  of  Huntingdon  County," 
says  that  it  was  built  mostly  of  wood  and  was  five  feet  wide  at 
the  bosh  and  w-as  either  fifteen  or  seventeen  feet  high.  A  forge 
was   subsequently  built   on   Little   Aughwick   creek,    four   miles 

^45 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

southwest  of  the  furnace,  by  the  Bedford  Company,  which  sup- 
pHed  the  neighborhood  with  horseshoe  iron,  wagon  tire,  harrow 
teeth,  etc.  Large  stoves  and  other  utensils  were  cast  at  Bedford 
furnace.  The  entire  product  of  the  furnace  was  converted  into 
castings  and  bar  iron.     At  the  Philadelphia  Exhibition  in  1876 


James  Pollock 

Congressman,  1844;  president  judge  Eighth 
Judicial  District,  1850;  governor,  1855-1858; 
1861,  director  United  States  mint,  Philadel- 
phia;  naval  officer  of  Philadelphia,   1880-1884 

there  was  exhibited  a  stove-plate  which  was  cast  at  this  furnace 
in  1792.  On  the  loth  of  September,  1793,  Thomas  Cromwell, 
for  the  company,  advertised  in  the  "Pittsburgh  Gazette"  castings 
and  bar  iron  for  sale  at  Bedford  furnace.  The  first  American 
bar  iron  ever  taken  to  Pittsburg  is  said  to  have  been  made  at 
Bedford  forge.  There  was  then  no  wagon  road  to  Pittsburg. 
"In  the  forge  the  pig  iron  of  the  furnace  was  hammered  out  into 


246 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

bars  about  six  or  eight  feet  long,  and  these  were  bent  into  the 
shape  of  the  letter  U  and  turned  over  the  backs  of  horses  and  thus 
transported  over  the  Alleghanies  to  Pittsburg." 

Bar  iron  and  castings  from  Bedford  furnace  and  other  iron 
works  in  the  Juniata  valley  were  taken  down  the  Juniata  river  in 
arks,  many  of  them  descending  to  as  low  a  point  as  Middletown, 
on  the  Susquehanna,  whence  the  iron  was  hauled  to  Philadelphia. 
Much  of  the  iron  of  the  Juniata  valley  was  also  sent  to  Baltimore 
in  arks  down  the  Susquehanna  river, 

Bedford  furnace  was  certainly  in  operation  before  1790,  as  on 
the  2d  day  of  March  of  that  year  Hugh  Needy  entered  into  an 
agreement  with  the  company  to  deliver  twenty-eight  ten-gallon 
kettles  and  seven  Dutch  ovens,  the  whole  weighing  12  cwt.,  3  qrs., 
and  21  lbs.,  to  Daniel  Depue,  "on  or  near  the  Monongahela  river, 
near  Devor's  Ferry,  in  eight  days  ensuing  the  date  hereof."  These 
articles  were  carried  on  pack-horses.  The  forge  appears  to  have 
been  built  in  1791,  as  is  shown  by  an  itemized  statement  of  iron 
made  by  the  company  from  "the  time  the  forge  started"  in  that 
year  imtil  October  12,  1796,  the  product  in  these  six  years  being 
497  tons,  8  cwt.,  2  qrs.,  and  26  lbs. 

Centre  furnace,  located  on  Spring  creek,  in  Centre  county,  was 
the  second  furnace  erected  in  the  Juniata  valley  or  near  its  bound- 
aries. It  was  built  in  the  summer  of  1791  by  Colonel  John  Pat- 
ton  and  Colonel  Samuel  Miles,  both  Revolutionary  officers.  The 
first  forge  in  Centre  county  was  Rock  forge,  on  Spring  creek, 
built  in  1793  by  General  Philip  Benner,  who  subsequently  origi- 
nated other  iron  enterprises  in  the  same  county  and  became  an  ex- 
tensive shipper  of  Juniata  iron. 

Barree  forge,  on  the  Juniata  river,  in  Huntingdon  county, 
was  built  about  1794  by  Bartholomew  &  Dorsey,  to  convert  the 
pig  iron  of  Centre  furnace  into  bar  iron.  Huntingdon  furnace, 
on  Warrior's  Mark  run,  in  Franklin  township,  was  built  in  1796, 
but  after  one  or  two  blasts  it  was  removed  a  mile  lower  down  the 
stream.     A   forge   called   Massey,   on    Spruce  creek,   connected 

247 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

with  Huntingdon  furnace,  was  built  about  1800.  Tyrone  forges, 
on  the  Juniata,  were  built  by  the  owners  of  Huntingdon  furnace, 
the  first  of  the  forges  in  1804.  Gordon,  in  1832,  in  his  "Gazet- 
teer of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,"  stated  that  these  forges,  with 
a  rolling  and  slitting  mill  and  nail  factory  attached,  formed  "a 
very  extensive  establishment,"  owned  by  Messrs.  Gloninger,  An- 
shutz  &  Co.  "The  mill  rolls  about  150  tons,  75  of  which  are 
cut  into  nails  at  the  works,  50  tons  are  slit  into  rods  and  sent  to 
the  West,  and  about  25  tons  are  sold  in  the  adjoining  counties." 
Juniata  forge,  at  Petersburg,  was  built  about  1804  by  Samuel 
Fahnestock  and  George  Shoenberger,  the  latter  becoming  sole 
owner  in  1805.  George  Shoenberger  died  in  1814  or  181 5.  His 
only  son,  Dr.  Peter  Shoenberger,  succeeded  to  the  ownership  of 
his  iron  enterprises.  Coleraine  forges,  on  Spruce  creek,  were 
built  in  1805  and  1809  by  Samuel  Marshall.  There  have  been  many 
forges  on  this  creek. 

Many  other  charcoal  furnaces  and  forges  and  a  few  rolling 
mills  were  built  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Juniata  valley  before 
1850.  In  1832  there  were  in  operation  in  Huntingdon  county, 
which  then  embraced  a  part  of  Blair  county,  eight  furnaces,  ten 
forges,  and  one  rolling  and  slitting  mill.  Each  of  the  furnaces 
yielded  from  1200  to  1600  tons  of  iron  annually.  In  the  same 
year  an  incomplete  list  enumerated  eight  furnaces  and  as  many 
forges  in  Centre  county.  Etna  furnace  and  forge,  on  the  Juniata, 
in  Catharine  township,  now  Blair  county,  were  built  in  1805  by 
Canan,  Stewart  &  Moore.  The  furnace  was  the  first  in  Blair 
county.  Cove  forge,  on  the  Frankstown  branch  of  the  Juniata, 
was  built  between  1808  and  18 10  by  John  Rover.  Allegheny  fur- 
nace was  built  in  181 1  by  Allison  &  Henderson,  and  was  the  second 
furnace  in  Blair  county. 

For  many  years  after  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
Huntingdon  and  Centre  counties  constituted  the  principal  iron 
producing  district  in  the  country.  This  prominence  in  the  produc- 
tion of  iron  was  maintained  until  after  1842,  when  the  tariff  of 

248 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

that  year  and  the  discovery  that  iron  could  be  made  with  anthracite 
and  bituminous  coal  enabled  other  districts  in  the  State  and  coun- 
try to  wrest  from  these  counties  their  iron  sceptre.  In  1850  there 
w'ere  in  these  two  counties  and  in  Blair  county  (formed  out  of 
Huntingdon  and  Bedford  in  1846)  and  in  Mifflin  county  forty- 
eight  furnaces,  forty-two  forges,  and  eight  rolling-mills,  nearly 
all  of  which  were  in  Huntingdon  and  Centre  counties. 

Much  of  the  iron  made  in  the  Juniata  valley  during  the  palmy 
days  of  its  iron  industry  was  sold  at  Pittsburg,  first  in  the  form 
of  castings,  afterwards  both  in  pigs  and  bars,  and  finally  chiefly 
in  the  form  of  blooms.  Before  the  completion  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Canal  and  the  Portage  Railroad  it  was  transported  with  great  dif- 
ficulty. Bar  iron  from  Centre  county  was  at  first  carried  on  the 
backs  of  horses  to  the  Clarion  river  and  was  then  floated  on  boats 
and  arks  to  Pittsburg.  Pig  and  bar  iron  from  Huntingdon  county 
were  hauled  over  the  Frankstown  road  to  Johnstown  and  thence 
floated  to  Pittsburg  by  way  of  the  Conemaugh  river.  Subse- 
quently blooms  were  sent  to  Pittsburg  from  Huntingdon  county 
by  wagon.  "Juniata  iron"  was  also  largely  sold  in  eastern  mar- 
kets, the  Juniata  and  Susquehanna  rivers  furnishing  an  outlet 
before  the  building  of  the  Pennsylvania  Canal.  It  was  noted 
throughout  the  country  for  its  excellence. 

The  following  advertisement  appeared  in  a  Pittsburg  news- 
paper in  18 1 3.  The  advertiser  was  then  operating  the  first  roll- 
ing mill  built  at  Pittsburg.     Blooms  were  his  raw  material. 

Waggons  Wanted. — The  subscriber  wishes  to  employ  from  30  to  50 
waggons,  for  three  or  four  trips  to  the  ironworks  near  Belfont,  Centre  coun- 
ty; and  would  be  anxious  to  engage  20  or  30  out  of  the  above  number  to  haul 
by  the  year.  A  very  considerable  advance  will  be  made  on  the  former  rate 
of  carriage.  This  added  to  the  low  price  of  feed  this  season  holds  out 
greater  inducements  to  embark  in  this  business  than  at  any  former  period. 
Applications  to  me  here ;  on  which  I  will  give  my  orders,  and  will  engage 
to  pay  for  any  delay  which  may  arise  to  the  waggoners  at  the  different  forges. 

C.  Cowan,  September  9,  1813. 

249 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

In  1828,  before  the  Pennsylvania  Canal  was  completed,  the 
hauling  of  blooms  by  wagon  to  Pittsburg  was  still  an  important 
business.  In  the  "Blairsville  Record"  for  January  31,  1828,  Mul- 
hollan  &  McAnulty  advertise  for  teams  to  haul  blooms  from 
Sligo  iron  works,  in  Huntingdon  county,  to  Blairsville,  offering 
$15  per  ton.  This  hauling  was  done  over  the  Huntingdon,  or 
Northern,  Turnpike,  which  had  been  built  only  a  few  years  be- 
fore and  which  passed  through  Huntingdon,  Hollidaysburg, 
Ebensburg,  and  Blairsville  to  Pittsburg.  A  notable  bridge  over 
the  Conemaugh  at  Blairsville  was  completed  in  182 1.     It  was  a 


Arms,  1855 

single-arch  bridge,  300  feet  long.  Soon  after  the  canal  was  fin- 
ished and  the  Portage  Railroad  from  Hollidaysburg  to  Johns- 
town was  completed,  the  latter  in  1834,  the  shipment  of  Juniata 
blooms  to  Pittsburg  greatly  increased. 

Steel  was  made  at  Caledonia,  near  Bedford,  for  several  years 
before  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  was  made  by  Will- 
iam McDermett,  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  was  cemented  steel. 

The  first  iron  manufactured  west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains 
was  made  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  F.  H.  Oliphant,  of 
Uniontown,  awards  to  John  Hayden,  of  Fayette  county,  the 
honor  of  having  made  "the  first  iron  in  a  smith's  fire"  as  early  as 
1790.  "It  was  about  as  big  as  a  harrow-tooth."  The  first  fur- 
nace west  of  the  Alleghanies  was,  however,  built  by  Turnbull  & 
Marmie,  of  Philadelphia,  on  Jacob's  creek,  between  Fayette  and 
Westmoreland  counties,  on  the  Fayette  county  side  of  the  creek, 
a  few  miles  above  its  entrance  into  the  Youghiogheny  river.  It 
was  first  blown  in  on  November  i,  1790,  and  produced  a  superior 

250 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

quality  of  metal  both  for  castings  and  bar  iron,  some  of  it  having 
been  tried  the  same  day  in  a  forge  which  the  proprietors  had 
erected  at  the  same  place.  The  furnace  and  forge  were  called 
the  Alliance  iron  works.  Craig,  in  his  "History  of  Pittsburgh" 
(185 1 ),  gives  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Major  Craig, 
Deputy  Quartermaster  General  and  Military  Storekeeper  at  Fort 
Pitt,  to  General  Knox,  dated  January  12,  1792,  as  follows:  "As 
there  is  no  six-pound  shot  here  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  engage 
four  hundred  at  Turnbull  &  Marmie's  furnace,  which  is  now  in 
blast."     The  ruins  of  this  furnace  may  still  be  seen. 

Union  furnace,  on  Dunbar  creek,  four  miles  south  of  Connells- 
ville,  in  Fayette  county,  was  built  by  Isaac  Meason  in  1790  and 
was  put  in  blast  in  March,  1791.  It  was  succeeded  in  1793  by  a 
larger  furnace  of  the  same  name,  built  near  the  same  site  by  Isaac 
Meason,  John  Gibson,  and  Moses  Dillon.  An  advertisement  in 
the  "Pittsburgh  Gazette,"  dated  April  10,  1794,  mentions  that 
Meason,  Dillon  &  Co.  have  for  sale  "a  supply  of  well-assorted  cast- 
ings, which  they  will  sell  for  cash  at  the  reduced  price  of  £35  per 
ton  ($93.33)."  There  was  a  forge  connected  with  this  furnace 
called  Union  forge.  Two  Dunbar  furnaces  now  stand  near  the 
site  of  the  original  Union  furnace. 

In  1792  John  Hayden  and  his  partner,  John  Nicholson,  built 
a  bloomary  forge  on  George's  creek,  a  few  miles  south  of  Union- 
town,  and  in  1797  John  Hayden  built  Fairfield  furnace,  also  on 
George's  creek.  John  and  Andrew  Oliphant  and  Nathaniel 
Breading  bought  an  interest  in  this  furnace  in  1798  and  in  a  few 
years  the  Oliphants  became  its  sole  owners.  Fairchance  furnace, 
on  George's  creek,  six  miles  south  of  Uniontown,  was  built  in  1804 
by  John  Hayden.  J.  &  A.  Oliphant  bought  it  about  1805.  It 
was  rebuilt  two  or  three  times  and  kept  in  operation  until  1887, 
when  it  was  abandoned  and  torn  down.  The  Oliphants  built 
Sylvan  forges,  on  George's  creek,  below  Fairfield  and  Fairchance 
furnaces.  It  is  said  that  while  the  Oliphants  operated  Fairfield 
furnace  they  cast  a  quantity  of  shot  which  was  used  by  General 

251 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

Jackson's  artillery  in  the  battle  of  New  Orleans.  It  was  shipped 
down  the  Monongahela,  the  Ohio,  and  the  Mississippi  rivers. 

Rolling  and  slitting  mills,  for  the  manufacture  of  sheet  iron 
and  nail  rods,  were  established  west  of  the  Alleghanies  soon  after 
the  first  furnace  and  forge  was  built  in  1790.  Prior  to  1794 
Jeremiah  Pears  built  a  forge  at  Plumsock,  in  Menallen  township, 
Fayette  county,  which  was  the  forerunner  of  a  rolling  and  slit- 
ting mill  built  by  Mr.  Pears  at  the  same  place  before  1804.  In 
1805  the  rolling  and  slitting  mill  and  the  remainder  of  Mr. 
Pears's  property  were  sold  by  the  sheriff.  This  was  probably  the 
first  rolling  and  slitting  mill  erected  west  of  the  Alleghenies.  In 
1805  a  rolling  and  slitting  mill  was  built  by  John  Gibson  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Youghiogheny  river,  below  Connellsville.  Cra- 
mer's "Pittsburgh  Almanac"  for  1812  says  that  in  181 1  there 
were  three  such  mills  in  Fayette  county.  Another  was  just  over 
the  Pennsylvania  line  in  the  present  State  of  West  Virginia  and 
is  described  in  the  Almanac  for  181 3,  issued  in  18 12,  as  follows: 
"Jackson  &  Updegraff,  on  Cheat  river,  have  in  operation  a  fur- 
nace, forge,  rolling  and  slitting  mill,  and  nail  factory — nails 
handsome,  iron  tough."  The  Cheat  river  enterprise  was  on  the 
road  from  Uniontown  to  Morgantown,  about  three  miles  south 
of  the  Pennsylvania  State  line,  and  eight  miles  north  of  Morgan- 
town.  Like  all  the  rolling  and  slitting  mills  of  that  day  and  of 
many  preceding  days  the  Cheat  river  mill  neither  puddled  iron 
nor  rolled  bar  iron,  but  rolled  only  sheet  iron  and  nail  plates  with 
plain  rolls  from  blooms  heated  in  a  hollow  fire  and  hammered 
under  a  tilt-hammer.  The  nail  plates  were  slit  into  nail  rods  by 
a  series  of  revolving  discs. 

In  1805  there  were  five  furnaces  and  six  forges  in  Fayette 
county.  In  181 1  the  county  had  ten  furnaces,  one  air  furnace, 
eight  forges,  three  rolling  and  slitting  mills,  one  steel  furnace, 
and  five  trip-hammers.  At  a  later  date  there  were  twenty  fur- 
naces in  this  county.  Fayette  county  was  a  great  iron  centre  at 
the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  far  into  the  nineteenth 

252 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

century.  For  many  years  Pittsburg  and  the  Ohio  and  Missis- 
sippi valleys  were  almost  entirely  supplied  by  it  with  all  kinds  of 
castings  and  with  hammered  bar  iron.  In  1804  a  large  order 
for  sugar  kettles,  to  be  used  on  the  sugar  plantations  of  Louisi- 
ana, was  filled  at  Union  furnace.  Long  before  1850,  however, 
the  fires  in  most  of  the  furnaces  and  forges  of  Fayette  county 
were  suffered  to  die  out.  In  1849  only  four  of  its  furnaces  were 
in  blast.  Other  furnaces,  to  use  coke,  and  other  iron  and  steel 
enterprises  have  since  been  built  within  its  boundaries,  but  its 
fame  as  a  centre  of  the  iron  industry  has  departed.  In  its  stead 
it  now  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  the  home  of  the  famous 
Connellsville  coke.  Connellsville,  on  the  Youghiogheny,  was  a 
shipping  point  for  Fayette  county  iron. 

The  steel  furnace  above  referred  to  as  existing  in  181 1  was 
at  Bridgeport,  adjoining  Brownsville,  was  owned  by  Truman  & 
Co.,  and  made  good  steel.  It  was  known  as  the  Brownsville  steel 
factory.  In  181 1  Truman  &  Co.  advertised  that  they  had  for  sale 
"several  tons  of  steel  of  their  own  converting,  which  they  will  sell 
at  the  factory  for  cash,  at  12  dollars  per  cwt.,  and  20  dollars  per 
faggot  for  Crowley."  The  latter  was  an  English  brand.  Tru- 
man &  Co.  made  cemented  steel. 

The  first  nail  factory  west  of  the  Alleghanies  was  built  at 
Brownsville,  about  1795,  by  Jacob  Bowman,  at  which  wrought 
nails  were  made  by  hand  in  one  shop  and  cut  nails  were  made  by 
machines  in  another.  These  machines  were  worked  by  the  foot 
of  the  workman,  while  his  hands  guided  the  flat  and  thin  bar  of 
iron  from  which  the  nails  were  cut. 

The  first  rolling  mill  erected  in  the  United  States  to  puddle 
iron  and  roll  iron  bars  was  built  in  18 16  and  18 17  on  Redstone 
creek,  about  midway  between  Connellsville  and  Brownsville,  at  a 
place  called  Middletown,  better  known  as  Plumsock,  in  Fayette 
county,  on  the  site  of  Jeremiah  Pears's  enterprise  which  has  pre- 
viously been  described.  The  rolling  mill  was  undertaken  by 
Colonel  Isaac  Meason,  of  Union  furnace,  who  then  had  forges 

253 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

at  Plumsock.  This  mill  was  built  "for  making  bars  of  all  sizes 
and  hoops  for  cutting  into  nails."  Mr.  Oliphant  says  that  "the 
iron  was  refined  by  blast  and  then  puddled.  It  was  kept  in  oper- 
ation up  to  1824,  the  latter  part  of  the  time  by  Mr.  Palmer."     A 


JU-UkA^,*w*.^ 


'^-^^■"■-^^— ^^'~-'  -  "^•^^•"  "^-"-^^-^ 


^■^ ""'"'" '""'"'' 


William   Fisher   Packer 

Editor;  auditor  general,  1824-1845;  speaker 
State  house,  1847-48;  State  senator,  1849;  first 
president  of  Susquehanna  Railroad  company; 
governor,     1858-1861 

flood  in  the  Redstone  caused  its  partial  destruction.     The  machin- 
ery of  the  mill  was  subsequently  taken  to  Brownsville. 

Careful  inquiry  fails  to  discover  the  existence  in  the  United 
States  of  any  rolling  mill  to  roll  bar  iron  and  puddle  pig  iron 
prior  to  the  enterprise  at  Plumsock  in  1816.  Ralph  Crooker,  of 
the  Bay  State  iron  works,  at  Boston,  the  oldest  rolling  mill  super- 
intendent in  the  United  States,  says  that  the  first  bar  iron  rolled 
in  New  England  was  rolled  at  the  Boston  iron  works,  on  the  Mill 


254 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

Dam  at  Boston,  in  1825,  and  that  the  first  puddling  done  in  New 
England  was  at  Boston,  on  the  Mill  Dam,  by  Lyman,  Ralston  & 
Co.,  in  1835.  We  cannot  learn  of  any  mill  in  Eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania that  either  puddled  iron  or  rolled  iron  bars  as  early  as  1816. 

Isaac  Meason,  who  did  so  much  to  develop  the  iron  resources 
of  Fayette  county,  was  a  native  of  Virginia.  He  died  in  18 19. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  1783,  and  for  many  years  prior  to  his  death  he  was 
an  associate  judge  of  Fayette  county. 

Westmoreland  county  speedily  followed  Fayette  county  in 
the  manufacture  of  iron.  Westmoreland  furnace,  on  a  branch 
of  Loyalhanna  creek,  near  Laughlinstown,  in  Ligonier  valley, 
was  built  in  1794  by  Christopher  Lobingier  &  Brother.  In  1798 
the  furnace  was  sold  to  John  Probst,  who  operated  it  for  about 
four  years.  On  the  ist  of  August,  1795,  George  Anshutz,  man- 
ager of  Westmoreland  furnace,  advertised  stoves  and  castings  for 
sale.  We  have  a  stove  plate  cast  at  Westmoreland  furnace  in 
1800  by  John  Probst  and  so  marked  in  raised  letters. 

General  Arthur  St.  Clair  built  Hermitage  furnace,  on  Mill 
creek,  two  miles  northeast  of  Ligonier,  about  1802.  It  was  man- 
aged for  its  owner  by  James  Hamilton,  and  made  stoves  and  other 
castings.  It  was  in  blast  in  1806.  In  18 10  it  passed  out  of  the 
hands  of  General  St.  Clair  and  was  idle  for  some  time.  In  18 16 
it  was  started  again  by  O'Hara  &  Scully,  under  the  management 
of  John  Henry  Hopkins,  afterwards  Protestant  Episcopal  bishop 
of  Vermont.  In  October,  18 17,  Mr.  Hopkins  left  the  furnace  and 
it  has  never  since  been  in  operation.  Its  ruins  may  still  be  seen. 
General  St.  Clair  died  a  very  poor  man  in  18 18,  aged  84  years, 
and  was  buried  at  Greensburg. 

Several  other  furnaces  and  a  few  forges  were  built  in  West- 
moreland county  soon  after  the  pioneer  furnaces  above  mentioned. 
One  of  the  forges  was  Kingston  forge,  erected  in  181 1  on  Loyal- 
hanna creek,  ten  miles  east  of  Greensburg,  by  Alexander  Johnston 
&  Co.,  and  going  into  operation  early  in  18 12.     Alexander  John- 

255 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

ston  was  the  father  of  Governor  WilHam  F.  Johnston.  He  was 
born  in  Ireland  in  July,  1773,  and  died  in  July,  1872,  aged  99  years. 

The  owners  of  the  early  furnaces  in  Westmoreland  county, 
besides  supplying  local  wants,  shipped  castings  by  boats  or  arks 
on  the  Youghiogheny,  the  Conemaugh,  the  Kiskiminitas,  and 
the  Allegheny  rivers  to  Pittsburg,  some  of  which  found  their 
way  down  the  Ohio  river  to  Cincinnati  and  Louisville.  Subse- 
quently they  shipped  pig  iron  by  canal  to  Pittsburg  rolling  mills. 

Shade  furnace,  in  Somerset  county,  was  built  in  1807  or  1808 
and  was  the  first  iron  enterprise  in  this  county.  It  stood  on  Shade 
creek,  below  the  junction  of  Clear  Shade  and  Dark  Shade  creeks, 
and  was  built  by  Gerehart  &  Reynolds  on  land  leased  from  Thomas 
Vickroy.  A  sale  was  made  about  18 18  to  Richards,  Earl  &  Co., 
of  New  Jersey,  who  operated  the  furnace  down  to  about  1830. 
In  1820  they  built  a  forge,  called  Shade,  below  the  furnace,  which 
was  operated  by  various  persons  for  many  years.  In  1849  i^  made 
30  tons  of  bars.  The  furnace  was  continued  at  intervals  by 
various  proprietors  to  the  close  of  1858.  We  have  seen  a  stove 
which  was  cast  at  Shade  furnace  in  18 18. 

About  181 1  Joseph  Vickroy  and  Conrad  Piper  built  Mary 
Ann  forge,  on  Stony  creek,  about  five  miles  below  Shade  furnace 
and  half  a  mile  below  the  mouth  of  Shade  creek.  Pig  iron  to 
supply  this  forge  was  sometimes  packed  on  horseback  from  Bed- 
ford county,  the  horses  taking  salt  from  the  Conemaugh  salt  works 
and  bar  iron  as  a  return  load. 

Bar  iron  was  shipped  to  Pittsburg  from  these  forges.  Much 
of  the  iron  from  the  forges  was  hauled  to  Johnstown  for  shipment 
down  the  Conemaugh,  but  some  of  it  was  shipped  on  flat  boats 
directly  from  the  forges.  Pig  iron  was  also  hauled  to  Johnstown 
from  Shade  furnace  for  shipment  by  flatboat  to  Pittsburg.  Rich- 
ard Geary,  the  father  of  Governor  John  W.  Geary,  was  the  man- 
ager of  Mary  Ann  forge  for  about  one  year,  and  was  supercargo 
of  a  load  of  bar  iron  which  was  shipped  from  the  forge  down  the 
Stony  creek  and  other  streams  to  Pittsburg. 

256 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

Several  other  furnaces  and  a  few  forges  were  built  in  Somer- 
set county  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  but  they  have 
all  disappeared. 

The  first  iron  enterprise  in  Indiana  county  was  Indiana  forge, 
on  Findley's  run,  near  the  Conemaugh,  built  about  1837  by 
Henry  and  John  Noble,  wdio  also  built  Indiana  furnace  as  early  as 
1840.  Both  the  furnace  and  forge  were  running  in  the  last- 
named  year.  Pig  iron  for  the  forge  was  at  first  obtained  from 
Alleghany  furnace,  in  Blair  county.  Some  iron  ore  for  the  fur- 
nace was  obtained  from  the  Alleghany  furnace  mines  and  brouglit 
to  the  furnace  by  the  Pennsylvania  Canal  and  Portage  Railroad. 
About  1837  John  Noble  owned  a  farm  of  about  200  acres  in  the 
heart  of  the  present  city  of  Altoona,  which  he  sold  to  David  Rol> 
inson,  of  Pleasant  Valley,  for  v$4,500,  taking  in  payment  the  con- 
tents of  Mr.  Robinson's  country  store,  which  he  removed  to 
Findley's  run  and  added  to  the  capital  stock  of  Henry  and  John 
Noble.  The  Altoona  farm  is  now  worth  many  millions  of  dol- 
lars. A  few  other  furnaces  were  soon  built  in  this  county,  but 
all  the  Indiana  furnaces  and  its  solitary  forge  have  long  been 
abandoned. 

About  1809  John  Holliday  built  a  forge  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  Stony  creek,  near  the  mouth  of  Bedford  street,  in  Johnstown, 
which  was  soon  known  as  Cambria  forge,  Cambria  county  hav- 
ing only  recently  been  organized.  Like  all  the  iron  enterprises 
of  that  day,  the  power  used  in  operating  the  forge  was  water 
power  and  the  fuel  used  was  charcoal.  A  dam  was  built  across 
the  Stony  creek  above  the  forge.  In  181 1,  or  about  that  year,  the 
Stony  creek  dam  was  washed  away,  and  soon  afterwards  the 
forge  was  removed  to  the  Conemaugh  river,  where  it  was  oper- 
ated down  to  about  1822,  Rahm  &  Bean,  of  Pittsburg,  being  the 
lessees  of  the  forge  at  this  time.  It  was  abandoned  about  this 
year.  It  was  used  to  hammer  bar  iron  out  of  Juniata  pig  iron  and 
blooms.  In  181 7  Thomas  Burrell.  the  proprietor,  offered  wood- 
cutters "fifty  cents  per  cord  for  chopping  two  thousand  cords  of 

3-17  257 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

wood  at  Cambria  forge,  Johnstown."  This  was  the  first  iron 
enterprise  in  Cambria  county. 

About  1810  the  second  iron  enterprise  at  Johnstown  was  es- 
labHshed  by  Robert  Pierson.  It  was  a  small  nail  factory.  Mr. 
Pierson's  nails  w^ere  cut  out  of  what  was  called  "nail  iron"  with 
a  machine  worked  by  a  treadle,  but  without  heads,  which  were 
afterwards  added  by  hand.  The  "nail  iron"  was  obtained  from 
the  small  rolling  mills  in  the  Juniata  valley  and  was  hauled  over 
the  Frankstown  road.  About  200  pounds  of  nails,  valued  at  $30, 
were  made  at  Johnstown  in  18 10,  and  probably  by  Mr.  Pierson. 

Cambria  county  has  been  noted  as  an  iron  centre  since  its  first 
furnace,  Cambria,  was  built  by  George  S.  King  and  others  in 
1842,  on  Laurel  run,  near  Johnstown.  It  was  followed  in  the 
next  few  years  by  five  other  charcoal  furnaces.  All  these  fur- 
naces have  been  abandoned.  The  extensive  works  of  the  Cam- 
bria Iron  Company,  at  Johnstown,  were  commenced  in  1853  by 
a  company  of  which  Mr.  King  was  the  originator  and  Dr.  Peter 
Shoenberger  was  a  member.  They  w^ere  built  expressly  to  make 
coke  pig  iron  and  to  roll  iron  rails,  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
passing  through  Johnstowm,  having  been  completed  from  Phila- 
delphia to  Pittsburg  in  the  preceding  year.  Dr.  Shoenberger 
had  previously  become  a  half  owner  of  Cambria  furnace  and  a 
part  owner  of  several  other  furnaces  and  of  large  tracts  of  land 
near  Johnstovv^n. 

A  furnace  named  Mary  Ann  was  erected  at  an  early  day  in 
Greene  count}^  It  was  located  on  Ten-mile  creek,  opposite  Clarks- 
ville,  and  about  twenty  miles  from  Uniontown.  It  was  abandoned 
early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  An  advertisement  for  its  sale,  by 
"Samuel  Harper,  agent  for  the  proprietors,"  dated  July  23,  1810, 
styles  it  "The  Iron  Works,"  late  the  property  of  Captain  James 
Robinson.  It  was  probably  built  about  1800.  Gordon,  in  his 
Gazetteer  (1832),  says  that  "there  were  formerly  in  operation  on 
Ten-mile  creek  a  forge  and  furnace,  but  they  have  long  been  idle 
and  are  falling  to  decay."     This  reference  is  to  Robinson's  works. 

258 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

A  blast  furnace  was  built  at  Beaver  Falls,  Beaver  county,  then 
called  Brighton,  on  the  west  side  of  Beaver  river,  in  1802,  by 
Hoopes,  Townsend  &  Co.,  and  blown  in  in  1804.  A  forge  was 
connected  with  it  from  the  beginning  and  it  was  in  operation  in 


Felix  Reville  Brunot 

Civil  engineer;  manufacturer;  philanthropist; 
president  of  the  Board  of  Indian  Commission- 
ers appointed  by  President  Grant,  1865.  Re- 
produced especially  for  this  work  from  portrait 
belonging  to  The  Western  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania 

1806,  according  to  Cramer's  "Pittsburgh  Almanac."  Both  the 
furnace  and  the  forge  were  in  operation  in  1816.  The  whole 
enterprise  was  abandoned  about  1826,  after  frequent  changes  of 
ownership.  The  ore  used  at  the  furnace  was  picked  out  of  gravel 
banks  in  the  neighborhood  in  very  small  lumps.  The  fuel  used 
was  charcoal.     There  was  another  early  charcoal  furnace  in  this 


259 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

county,  named  Bassenheim,  built  by  Detmar  Basse.  This  furnace 
was  located  on  the  Conoquenessing  creek  and  about  a  mile  west  of 
the  Butler  county  line.  In  February,  1818,  $12  per  ton  were  paid 
for  hauling  pig  metal  from  this  furnace  to  Pittsburg,  30  miles  dis- 
tant, over  a  bad  road.     The  furnace  was  abandoned  about  1824. 

The  admirable  water  power  furnished  by  the  Beaver  river 
and  the  facilities  for  shipment  afforded  by  the  Ohio  river  and 
subsequently  by  the  Beaver  Canal  presented  special  inducements 
to  manufacturers  of  iron  and  steel  products  and  to  other  manu- 
facturers. In  1828  Robert  Townsend  &  Co.  built  at  Fallston, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  Beaver  river  from  New  Brighton,  in  Bea- 
ver county,  a  mill  for  the  manufacture  of  iron  wire,  which  is  still 
in  operation.  About  1852  the  manufacture  of  rivets  was  added 
to  the  business  and  in  1887  the  manufacture  of  wire  nails  was 
commenced.  In  the  meantime  the  Harmony  Society  promoted 
the  establishment  of  various  iron  and  steel  enterprises  at  Beaver 
Falls.  As  the  result  of  its  own  enterprise  and  that  of  others  the 
manufacture  of  cutlery,  files,  saws,  axes,  hoes,  shovels,  etc.,  which 
technically  consume  iron  and  steel,  was  soon  established,  and  sub- 
sequently the  manufacture  of  steel  itself  was  added.  The  promi- 
nence of  Beaver  county  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel  dur- 
ing the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  at  the  present 
time  has  been  largely  due  to  the  development  within  its  borders 
of  an  ample  supply  of  natural  gas.  There  are  to-day  many  iron 
and  steel  enterprises  of  modern  date  at  Beaver  Falls  and  in  other 
parts  of  Beaver  county. 

Prior  to  1846  there  were  a  few  furnaces  in  the  Shenango  val- 
ley, all  using  charcoal,  one  of  which  was  Springfield  furnace,  half 
a  mile  from  Leesburg  and  seven  miles  southeast  of  Mercer,  built 
in  1837  and  active  in  1849,  while  another  was  Temperance  fur- 
nace, about  six  miles  east  of  Greenville,  built  about  1840.  Day, 
in  1843,  says:  "Two  furnaces  were  wrought  formerly,  but  have 
since  been  abandoned."  In  1806  the  geographer  Joseph  Scott 
says  that  "a  forge  and  furnace  are  now  nearly  erected"  at  New 

260 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

Castle.  About  1810  there  was  a  forge  on  Neshannock  creek, 
"midway  between  Pearson's  flour  mill  and  Harvey's  paper  mill," 
for  the  manufacture  of  bar  iron  from  the  ore.  The  Shenango 
valley,  embracing  Lawrence  and  Mercer  counties,  is  now  one  of 
the  country's  great  iron  and  steel  centres. 

The  first  furnace  in  the  once  important  but  now  nearly  neg- 
lected ironmaking  district  composed  of  Armstrong,  Butler,  Clar- 
ion, Venango,  and  other  northwestern  counties  was  Bear  Creek, 
in  Armstrong  county,  which  was  built  in  18 18  and  went  into 
operation  in  that  year.  It  was  built  to  use  coke,  with  steam 
power,  and  its  first  blast  was  with  this  fuel,  but  charcoal  was  soon 
substituted.  The  furnace  was  abandoned  long  before  1850,  but 
was  running  in  1832,  in  which  year  Gordon  says  that  it  was 
owned  by  Henry  Baldwin,  Esq.,  and  was  reputed  to  be  the  larg- 
est furnace  in  the  United  States,  having  made  forty  tons  of  iron 
in  a  week.  This  furnace  had  a  tramroad,  with  wooden  rails,  in 
1818. 

Slippery  Rock  furnace,  in  Butler  county,  and  Clarion  furnace, 
in  Clarion  county,  were  built  in  1828,  the  latter  by  Christian 
Myers,  of  Lancaster  county,  who  built  another  furnace  about 
1844,  which  he  called  Polk.  Allegheny  furnace,  at  Kittanning, 
in  Armstrong  county,  and  Venango  furnace,  on  Oil  creek,  in  Ve- 
nango county,  were  built  in  1830.  From  1830  to  1850  this  sec- 
tion of  the  State  produced  large  quantities  of  charcoal  pig  iron. 
Li  1850  there  were  11  furnaces  in  Armstrong  county,  6  in  But- 
ler, 28  in  Clarion,  and  18  in  Venango:  63  in  all.  In  1858  there 
were  18  in  Armstrong,  6  in  Butler,  27  in  Clarion,  and  24  in  Ve- 
nango :  75  in  all.  All  these  were  charcoal  furnaces,  except  four 
coke  furnaces  at  Brady's  Bend.  Many  of  these  furnaces  had, 
however,  been  abandoned  at  the  latter  date,  and  every  one  has 
since  been  abandoned.  Most  of  them  were  built  to  supply  the 
Pittsburg  rolling  mills  with  pig  iron. 

The  Great  Western  iron  works  at  Brady's  Bend,  Armstrong 
county,  embracing  a  rolling  mill  and  four  furnaces  to  use  coke, 

261 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

were  built  by  Philander  Raymond  and  others  in  1840  and  1841. 
The  furnaces  were  finally  blown  out  in  1873  and  the  rolling  mill 
was  abandoned  in  the  same  year.  It  was  built  in  1841  to  roll 
bar  iron,  but  it  afterwards  rolled  iron  rails,  which  were  at  first 
flat  bars,  with  holes  for  spikes  countersunk  in  the  upper  surface. 
The  mill  continued  to  make  rails  until  after  the  close  of  the  civil 
war.  There  was  a  large  amount  of  Boston  capital  invested  at  one 
time  in  these  works. 

Erie  charcoal  furnace,  at  Erie,  was  built  in  1842  and  aban- 
doned in  1849.  It  ^sed  bog  ore.  Liberty  furnace,  on  the  north 
side  of  French  creek,  in  Crawford  county,  was  built  in  1842  and 
abandoned  in  1849. 

The  iron  manufactured  in  the  Allegheny  valley  was  taken 
down  the  Allegheny  river  to  Pittsburg  on  keel-boats  and  arks, 
sometimes  on  rafts,  the  business  of  transporting  it  by  water  be- 
ing quite  extensive  down  to  about  1850.  Cornplanter  Indians, 
from  Warren  county,  were  among  the  raftsmen  of  those  days. 

We  have  left  to  the  last  the  history  of  the  early  iron  and  steel 
enterprises  of  Allegheny  county  and  a  summary  of  the  present 
extraordinary  development  of  its  iron  and  steel  industries. 

George  Anshutz,  the  pioneer  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  at 
Pittsburg,  was  an  alsacian  by  birth,  Alsace  at  the  time  being 
part  of  France.  He  was  born  on  November  28,  1753,  and  died 
at  Pittsburg  on  February  28,  1837,  aged  over  83  years.  He  ac- 
quired some  knowledge  of  the  iron  business  by  having  the  man- 
agement of  a  foundry  in  the  vicinity  of  Strasburg.  In  1789  he 
emigrated  to  the  United  States  and  soon  afterwards  located  at  a 
place  now  known  as  Shady  Side  and  in  the  East  End  of  Pitts- 
burg, where  he  built  a  small  furnace,  probably  completing  it  in 
1792.  In  1794  the  furnace  was  abandoned.  It  had  been  ex- 
pected that  iron  ore  could  be  obtained  in  the  vicinity,  but  this  ex- 
pectation was  not  realized.  The  neighborhood  produced  little 
else  than  red  shale.  'Recourse  was  next  had  to  a  deposit  of  iron 
ore  on  Roaring  run,  an  affluent  of  the  Kiskiminetas,  in  the  south- 

262 


Thomas  Buchanan  Read 


Cigar  maker;  sign  painter;  artist;  sculptor; 
poet;  author  of  "Sheridan's  Ride;"  born,  1822; 
died,   1872 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

eastern  corner  of  Armstrong  county,  from  which  supplies  were 
received  in  arks  at  a  point  on  the  Allegheny  river  near  to  the  fur- 
nace. Some  ore  was  also  brought  by  difficult  wagon  transporta- 
tion from  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Ligonier  and  Laughlinstown,  in 
Westmoreland  county.  But  the  expense  entailed  in  bringing  ore 
from  localities  so  difficult  of  access  in  those  days  was  too  great  to 
justify  the  continued  working  of  the  furnace. 

Anshutz's  furnace  was  built  at  a  point  about  four  miles  east 
of  the  site  of  Fort  Pitt,  on  a  stream  known  as  Two-Mile  run,  on 
the  bank  of  which  Colonel  Jonas  Roup  had  previously  at  an  early 
period,  after  emigrating  from  the  Cumberland  valley,  erected  a 
grist  and  saw  mill.  The  enterprise  seems  to  have  been  largely 
devoted  to  the  casting  of  stoves  and  grates.  When  the  road-bed 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  was  graded  at  Shady  Side,  in  1851, 
a  portion  of  the  furnace  building  was  demolished  and  a  part  of 
its  foundation  was  removed.  Subsequently,  in  digging  the  cellar 
of  Alexander  Pitcairn's  house,  a  portion  of  the  cinder  bank  was 
exposed. 

Clinton  furnace,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Monongahela,  in 
Pittsburg,  built  in  1859  by  Graff,  Bennett  &  Co.,  and  blown  in 
on  the  last  Monday  of  October  in  that  year,  was  the  first  furnace 
built  in  Allegheny  county  after  the  abandonment  in  1794  of 
George  Anshutz's  furnace  at  Shady  Side.  This  furnace  was  built 
to  use  coke  made  from  coal  from  the  Pittsburg  vein,  but  its  use 
was  not  satisfactory  and  coke  from  the  Connellsville  region  w^as 
soon  substituted.  Clinton  furnace  was  followed  in  1861  by  the 
two  Eliza  furnaces  of  Laughlin  &  Co.  and  soon  afterwards  by 
others,  all  to  use  Connellsville  coke. 

The  first  iron  foundry  at  Pittsburg  was  established  in  1805 
by  Joseph  McClurg  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Smithfield  street 
and  Fifth  avenue.  Rev.  A.  A.  Lambing  says  that  Joseph  Smith 
and  John  Gormly  were  associated  with  Mr.  McClurg  in  this  en- 
terprise. They  retired,  however,  before  1807.  The  enterprise  was 
styled  the  Pittsburg  foundry.     On  February   12,    1806,  Joseph 

265 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

McClurg  advertised  in  the  "Commonwealth"  that  "the  Pittsburgh 
Foundry  is  now  complete."  In  1812  it  was  converted  by  Mr. 
McClurg  into  a  cannon  foundry  and  supplied  the  Government  with 
cannon,  howitzers,  shells,  and  balls.  Commodore  Perry's  fleet  on 
Lake  Erie  and  General  Jackson's  army  at  New  Orleans  received 
their  supplies  of  these  articles  in  part  from  this  foundry.  In  18 13 
there  were  two  iron  foundries  in  this  city,  McClurg's  and  Anthony 
Beelen's,  and  one  steel  furnace,  owned  by  Tuper  &  McCowan.  In 
the  following  year  there  were  two  additional  foundries.  Mr. 
Beelen's  foundry  was  put  in  operation  in  November,  1810.  An- 
thony Beelen,  as  well  as  George  Anshutz,  was  a  native  of  France. 


Arms,  1870 

According  to  Cramer's  "Pittsburgh  Almanac"  there  were 
three  nail  factories  in  Pittsburg  in  1807,  Porter's,  Sturgeon's,  and 
Stewart's,  "which  make  about  forty  tons  of  nails  yearly."  In 
1 8 10  about  200  tons  of  cut  and  wrought  nails  were  made  at  Pitts- 
burg. The  condition  of  the  iron  industry  at  Pittsburg  in  18 10 
is  thus  summed  up  by  a  writer  in  "The  Navigator"  for  181 1  : 
"The  manufacture  of  ironmongery  has  increased  in  this  place  be- 
yond all  calculation.  Cut  and  wrought  nails  of  all  sizes  are  made 
in  vast  quantities,  about,  we  think,  200  tons  per  year.  Fire 
shovels,  tongs,  drawing  knives,  hatchets,  two-feet  squares,  augers, 
chissels,  adzes,  axes,  claw  hammers,  door  hinges,  chains,  hackles, 
locks,  door  handles,  spinning-wheel  irons,  plough  irons,  flat-irons, 
&c. ;  tons  of  these,  together  with  a  number  of  other  articles  in  the 
iron  way,  are  exported  annually.  Abner  Updegraff  attempted  the 
making  of  files,  which  he  finds  he  can  do  to  advantage.     He  also 

266 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

makes  gimlets,  and  by  way  of  experiment  made  a  neat  penknife, 
which,  he  says,  could  be  made  here  as  cheap  as  those  imported." 
The  making  of  screws  for  butt  hinges  is  also  noted. 

The  honor  of  having  erected  the  first  rolling  mill  at  Pittsburg 
is  undoubtedly  due  to  Christopher  Cowan,  who  built  a  mill  at  the 
corner  of  Penn  street  and  Cecil's  alley  in  1812,  completing  it  in 
1813.  This  mill  had  no  puddling  furnaces,  nor  was  it  built  to  roll 
bar  iron.  It  was  intended  to  and  certainly  did  manufacture  sheet 
iron,  nail  and  spike  rods,  shovels,  spades,  etc.  Cramer's  "Pitts- 
burgh Almanack"  for  1813  says  of  this  enterprise:  "C.  Cowan 
is  erecting  a  most  powerful  steam  engine  to  reduce  iron  to  vari- 
ous purposes.  It  is  calculated  for  a  seventy  horse  poiver,  which 
[will]  put  into  complete  operation  a  Rolling-mill,  a  Slitting-mill 
and  a  Tilt-hammer,  all  under  the  same  roof.  With  these  Mr. 
Cowan  will  be  enabled  to  furnish  sheet  iron,  nail  and  spike  rods, 
shovels  and  tongs,  spades,  scythes,  sickles,  hoes,  axes,  frying- 
pans,  cutting  knives.  In  addition  to  Mr.  Cowan's  already  exten- 
sive nail  business  he  makes  a  great  supply  of  chains,  plough  irons, 
shingling  hatchets,  clew  hammers,  chissels,  screw  augers,  spin- 
ning wheel  irons  and  smiths'  vices  of  superior  quality." 

The  Union  rolling  mill  was  the  second  mill  built  at  Pitts- 
burg. It  was  located  on  the  Monongahela  river,  was  built  in 
1819,  and  was  accidentally  blown  up  and  permanently  dismantled 
in  1829,  the  machinery  being  taken  to  Covington,  Kentucky.  This 
mill  had  four  puddling  furnaces — the  first  in  Pittsburg.  It  was 
also  the  first  to  roll  bar  iron.  It  was  built  by  Baldwin,  Robinson, 
McNickle  &  Beltzhoover.  It  is  claimed  that  the  first  angle  iron 
rolled  in  the  United  States  was  rolled  at  this  mill  by  Samuel  Leon- 
ard, w'ho  also  rolled  "L"  iron  for  salt  pans. 

Other  rolling  mills  at  Pittsburg  and  its  vicinity  soon  fol- 
lowed the  Union  rolling  mill.  On  Pine  creek,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  works  of  Spang,  Chalfant  &  Co.,  at  Etna,  Belknap,  Bean 
&  Butler  manufactured  scythes  and  sickles  as  early  as  1820,  but 
in  1824  steam  power  was  introduced  and  blooms  were  rolled.     A 

267 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

rolling  mill  on  Grant's  Hill  was  built  in  182 1  by  William  B.  Hays 
and  David  Adams,  near  where  the  court-house  now  stands. 
Water  for  the  generation  of  steam  at  this  mill  had  to  he  hauled 
from  the  Monongahela  river.  The  Juniata  iron  works  were  built 
on  the  Allegheny  river  in  1824  by  Dr.  Peter  Shoenberger.  Sligo 
rolling  mill  was  built  on  the  south  side  of  the  Monongahela  by 
Robert  T.  Stewart  and  John  Lyon  in  1825.  The  Dowlais  works, 
in  Kensington,  were  built  in  1825  by  George  Lewis  and  Reuben 
Leonard. 

The  condition  of  the  iron  industry  at  Pittsburg  at  the  close 
of  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  summed  up  in 
Cramer's  "Magazine  Almanac"  for  1826:  "The  manufactures 
of  Pittsburgh,  particularly  in  the  article  of  iron,  begin  to  assume 
a  very  interesting  aspect.  Not  less  than  five  rolling  mills  are 
now  in  operation,  and  a  sixth  will  soon  be  ready,  for  the  various 
manufactures  of  iron.  Four  of  the  mills  are  capable  of  mak- 
ing iron  from  the  pig,  besides  rolling,  slitting,  and  cutting  into 
nails." 

In  1829  Allegheny  county  had  eight  rolling  mills,  using  6,000 
tons  of  blooms,  largely  from  the  Juniata  valley,  and  1,500  tons 
of  pig  iron.  Li  the  same  year  there  were  nine  foundries  that  con- 
sumed 3,500  tons  of  iron.  In  1828  the  iron  rolled  was  3,291 
tons;  in  1829  it  was  6,217  tons;  and  in  1830  it  was  9,282  tons. 
It  is  stated  that  in  1830  one  hundred  steam-engines  were  built. 
In  183 1  there  were  two  steel  furnaces  at  Pittsburg  and  cast  iron 
began  to  be  used  for  pillars,  the  caps  and  sills  of  windows,  etc.  In 
1836  there  were  nine  rolling  mills  in  operation,  and  eighteen 
foundries,  engine  factories,  and  machine  shops.  In  1856  there 
were  at  Pittsburg  and  in  Allegheny  county  twenty-five  rolling 
mills  and  thirty-three  foundries,  but  not  one  blast  furnace.  In 
1890  there  were  twenty-five  blast  furnaces  and  sixty  rolling  mills 
and  steel  works  in  Allegheny  county.  In  1901  there  were  thirty- 
seven  large  blast  furnaces  and  sixty-three  rolling  mills  and  steel 
works  in  this  county. 

268 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

The  Pittsburg  rolling'  mills  were  largely  sii])|)lie(l  from  the 
first  with  blooms  from  the  Juniata  valley  and  with  pig  iron  from 
nearer  localities,  but  large  quantities  of  blooms  were  also  brought 
to  Pittsburg  from  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee. 

The  preeminence  of  Pennsylvania  as  an  iron  and  steel  pro- 
ducer is  very  largely  due  to  the  extraordinary  activity  of  the  iron 
and  steel  industries  of  Allegheny  county  since  about  1825.  After 
this  year  the  towns  and  cities  in  the  Ohio  valley  were  mainly 
supplied  by  Pittsburg  manufacturers  with  bar  iron,  nails,  and  all 
the  iron  and  steel  wares  of  the  day.  The  following  table  gives  the 
number  of  blast  furnaces,  rolling  mills,  and  steel  works  and  the 
production  of  pig  iron  and  crude  steel  and  of  iron  and  steel  rails 
and  structural  shapes  in  Allegheny  county  in  1898  and  1901  : 


Details. 


Furnaces  built  and  building No. 

Production  of  pig  iron Gross  tons. 

Rolling  mills  and  steel  works No. 

Production  of  Bessemer  steel Gross  tons. 

Production  of  open  hearth  steel Gross  tons. 

Production  of  crucible  and  other  steel.  .Gross  tons. 

Total  production  of  steel Gross  tons. 

Production  of  all  kinds  of  rails Gross  tons. 

Production  of  structural  shapes Gross  tons. 


1898. 


31 

37 

3,022,901 

3,690,011 

60 

63 

2,338,087 

2,883,59s 

1,042,350 

2,199,191 

52,35^ 

56,053 

3.43^789 

5,138,839 

564,085 

711,031 

451,3^3 

617,308 

Allegheny  county  produced  in  1901  over  23  per  cent,  of  the 
total  production  of  pig  iron  in  the  United  States ;  over  33  per 
cent,  of  the  total  production  of  Bessemer  steel  ingots  and  cast- 
ings ;  over  47  per  cent,  of  the  total  production  of  open-liearth  steel 
ingots  and  castings ;  almost  57  per  cent,  of  the  total  production 
of  crucible  steel;  over  38  per  cent,  of  the  total  production  of  all 
kinds  of  steel ;  over  24  per  cent,  of  the  total  production  of  all  kinds 
of  rails;  over  60  per  cent,  of  the  total  production  of  structural 
shapes ;  and  over  32  per  cent,  of  all  rolled  iron  and  steel  products. 

The  details  which  have  been  given  in  preceding  pages  of  the 
early  iron  history  of  Pennsylvania  relate  almost  entirely  to  the 


269 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

manufacture  of  iron  with  charcoal  as  fuel,  no  other  fuel  having 
been  used  in  American  blast  furnaces  until  about  1840,  and  but 
little  use  of  any  other  fuel  having  been  made  before  that  time  in 
any  other  branches  of  the  American  iron  industry.  The  period 
of  the  iron  history  of  Pennsylvania  and  of  every  other  part  of  the 
United  States  prior  to  1840  may  therefore  very  properly  be  styled 
the  charcoal  era. 


Entrance  to  Fort  Washington,  Cumberland  County,  opposite  Harrisburg 

From  photogrraph  in  possession  of  Historical 
Society  of  Dauphin  County,  Pennsylvania. 
Negative  by  LaRue  Lemer 

After  many  unsuccessful  experiments  with  anthracite  coal  in 
the  blast  furnace,  and  a  few  moderately  successful  experiments, 
the  use  of  this  fuel  in  the  manufacture  of  pig  iron  was  made 
entirely  successful  in  1840  by  David  Thomas,  who,  on  the  3d  day 
of  July  of  that  year,  blew  in  the  first  of  the  furnaces  of  the  Lehigh 
Crane  Iron  Company,  at  Catasauqua,  Lehigh  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, with  the  new  fuel.  From  the  start  this  furnace  produced  50 
tons  a  week  of  good  foundry  iron,  water  power  from  the  Lehigh 
river  being  used.  Other  furnaces  to  use  anthracite  coal  soon  fol- 
lowed, and  in  a  few  years  the  manufacture  of  anthracite  pig  iron 
became  an  important  branch  of  the  iron  industry  of  Pennsylvania 


270 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

and  of  adjoining  States.  In  1855  the  country  made  more  pig 
iron  with  anthracite  coal  than  with  charcoal.  AI)ont  1840  the  use 
of  anthracite  coal  in  rolling  mills  in  Eastern  I'emisyivania  and  in 
some  other  States  became  general.  It  had  previously  been  used 
in  the  generation  of  steam.  David  Thomas  is  justly  styled  the 
Father  of  the  American  anthracite  iron  industry.  To-day  com- 
paratively little  anthracite  coal  is  used  in  the  blast  furnace  in  this 
country,  and  the  most  of  what  is  used  is  mixed  with  coke.  In 
1 90 1  the  whole  quantity  of  pig  iron  made  with  anthracite  coal 
alone  amounted  to  only  43,719  tons. 

Successful  experiments  in  the  use  of  coke  in  the  blast  furnace 
in  this  country  date  from  1835,  when  William  Firmstone  suc- 
ceeded in  making  good  forge  pig  iron  for  about  one  month  at  the 
end  of  1  blast  at  Mary  Ann  furnace,  in  Huntingdon  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, with  coke  made  from  Broad  Top  coal.  This  pig  iron 
was  taken  to  a  forge  three  miles  distant  and  made  into  blooms. 
Coke  had  previously  been  used  in  a  small  way  in  forges  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  as  a  mixture  with  charcoal  in  a  few  blast  furnaces. 
About  1837  F.  H.  Oliphant  made  at  Fairchance  furnace,  near 
Uniontown,  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  quantity  of  coke 
pig  iron  exceeding  twenty  tons,  and  probably  exceeding  100  tons. 
He  did  not,  however,  long  continue  the  use  of  coke,  and  resumed 
the  manufacture  of  iron  with  charcoal. 

The  first  continuous  use  of  coke  in  the  blast  furnace  in  this 
country  was  achieved  at  Lonaconing  furnace,  at  Lonaconing,  in 
Western  Maryland,  in  1838  or  1839.  In  June,  1839,  this  furnace, 
which  w^as  built  by  the  George's  Creek  Company,  was  making 
about  70  tons  per  week  of  good  foundry  iron.  Other  furnaces 
soon  afterwards  used  coke,  particularly  in  Western  Pennsylvania, 
but  its  use  as  a  furnace  fuel  did  not  come  rapidly  into  favor,  and 
many  experiments  wnth  it  were  attended  with  loss.  Anthracite 
coal  was  the  favorite  blast-furnace  fuel  next  to  charcoal.  It  was 
not  until  after  1850  that  the  use  of  coke  began  to  exert  an  appre- 
ciable influence  upon  the  manufacture  of  pig  iron.     In  1849  there 

271 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

was  not  one  coke  furnace  in  blast  in  Pennsylvania.  In  1856  there 
were  twenty-one  furnaces  in  Pennsylvania  and  three  in  Maryland 
which  were  using  coke  or  w^ere  adapted  to  its  use,  and  their  total 
production  in  that  year  was  44,481  gross  tons  of  pig  iron.  After 
1856  the  use  of  this  fuel  in  the  blast  furnace  increased  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  was  extended  to  other  States,  but  it  was  not  until  1869 


Map  of  Forts  Washington  and  Henry  Clay,  Cumberland  County 

From  original  in  the  War  Department  at  Wash- 
ington, a  photo  of  which  is  in  possession  of  the 
Historical  Society  of  Dauphin  County,  Penn- 
sylvania 

that  the  country  made  more  pig  iron  with  coke  than  with  char- 
coal, and  not  until  1875  ^^'^^^  ^^  made  more  than  with  anthracite. 
In  1 90 1  fully  fifteen-sixteenths  of  the  country's  total  production 
of  pig  iron  was  made  with  coke,  either  by  itself  or  in  combination 
with  anthracite  coal,  raw  bituminous  coal,  or  charcoal.  Pennsyl- 
vania produces  more  coke  than  all  the  other  States.  Its  Connells- 
ville  coke  has  a  world-wide  reputation. 

The  use  of  raw  bituminous  coal,  or  uncoked  coal,  in  the  blast 
furnace,  which  has  never  been  an  important  factor  in  the  manu- 


272 


'(:•,,/> yl/.,/,/^  /;y  .     '■/'■    .     'C ,,  „,.^J /,:  .   ,, 


^?,//,-f/A„,.-/.,;,  .  r/X,.  /.'f/'S-. 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

facture  of  pig  iron  in  this  country,  and  which  is  now  virtually 
abandoned,  has  been  chiefly  confined  to  the  Shenango  and  Mahon- 
ing valleys  in  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  respectively,  in  which  a 
particularly  hard  bituminous  coal,  known  as  splint  coal,  or  block 
coal,  is  found,  and  which  is  not  a  good  coking  coal.  The  use  of 
this  coal  in  its  raw  state  in  the  blast  furnace  dates  from  1845, 
when  Clay  furnace,  in  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  success- 
fully operated  with  it  for  some  time.  In  the  same  year  Mahoning 
furnace,  in  Mahoning  county,  Ohio,  was  built  expressly  to  use 
this  fuel.  Other  furnaces  in  the  two  valleys  mentioned  were  soon 
built  to  use  this  fuel  and  some  charcoal  furnaces  were  altered  to 
use  it.  In  1856  six  furnaces  in  Pennsylvania  and  thirteen  in  Ohio 
were  using  it,  their  total  production  in  that  year  being  25,073 
gross  tons.  Some  progress  was  afterwards  made  in  the  use  of  the 
same  quality  of  coal  in  the  Hocking  valley  in  Ohio,  and  also  in 
Clay  county  and  neighboring  counties  in  Indiana,  but  since  1880 
its  use  has  gradually  declined,  until  to-day  very  little  pig  iron  is 
made  with  this  fuel,  and  when  used  it  is  mixed  with  coke. 

The  charcoal  iron  industry  of  Pennsylvania  is  now  virtually 
dead.  Most  of  its  charcoal  furnaces  and  forges  and  all  of  its 
primitive  charcoal  bloomaries  have  been  abandoned.  In  1901 
only  four  charcoal  furnaces  were  left  in  the  whole  State  and  not 
one  of  these  was  in  Western  Pennsylvania.  Their  total  produc- 
tion of  pig  iron  in  that  year  was  only  4,761  tons. 

The  manufacture  of  steel  by  the  old-time  method  of  cementa- 
tion had  an  existence  in  Pennsylvania,  as  in  some  other  States, 
before  the  Revolution,  but  it  never  attained  a  position  of  much 
prominence,  while  the  manufacture  of  crucible  steel,  although 
often  experimented  with,  and  sometimes  very  successfully,  made 
but  slow  progress  down  to  about  i860.  Up  to  this  time  the  coun- 
try's main  reliance  for  steel  was  upon  English  manufacturers, 
who  were  favored  in  our  markets  by  low  duties.  The  manufac- 
ture in  this  country  of  crucible  steel  of  the  best  grades  may  be  said 
to  have  been  established  on  a  firm  basis  after  Hussey,  Wells  &  Co. 

3-18  273 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

and  Park,  Brother  &  Co.,  of  Pittsburg,  and  Gregory  &  Co.,  of 
Jersey  City,  New  Jersey,  in  the  years  i860,  1862,  and  1863,  re- 
spectively, succeeded  in  making  it  of  uniform  quahty  as  a  regular 
product.  The  event  was  one  of  great  importance,  as  it  marked 
the  establishment  in  this  country  of  a  new  industry.  Dr.  Curtis 
G.  Hussey  of  Pittsburg  is  entitled  to  the  honor  of  having  estab- 
lished this  industry  in  our  country,  the  firm  of  which  he  was  the 
head  having  successfully  made  crucible  steel  of  the  best  quality 
as  a  regular  product  in  i860  for  the  first  time  in  our  history.  Of 
the  country's  total  production  of  crucible  steel  in  1901  Pennsyl- 
vania made  about  three-fourths,  and  nearly  all  of  this  large  pro- 
portion was  made  in  Allegheny  county. 

The  manufacture  of  Bessemer  steel,  the  invention  of  Sir 
Henry  Bessemer,  to  which  we  owe  the  cheap  rails  for  our  rail- 
roads, was  commenced  in  this  country  in  1864  and  1865,  in  an 
experimental  way,  at  Wyandotte,  Michigan,  and  Troy,  New 
York,  but  it  was  not  until  several  years  afterwards  that  Bessemer 
steel  was  produced  in  commercial  quantities.  In  1867  we  pro- 
duced 2,679  tons  of  Bessemer  steel  ingots  and  2,277  tons  of  Bes- 
semer steel  rails.  In  June,  1867,  the  Pennsylvania  Steel  Com- 
pany, at  its  works  at  Steelton,  near  Harrisburg,  made  the  first 
Bessemer  steel  that  was  made  in  Pennsylvania.  From  this  time 
on  the  industry  steadily  grew,  although  slowly  at  first,  until  in 
1901  we  produced  8,713,302  tons  of  Bessemer  ingots  and  castings 
and  2,870,816  tons  of  Bessemer  rails.  From  the  first  Pennsyl- 
vania has  been  by  far  the  most  active  of  all  the  States  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  Bessemer  steel  industry.  Of  the  country's  total 
production  of  Bessemer  steel  ingots  and  castings  in  1901  Pennsyl- 
vania made  exactly  49.2  per  cent.,  and  of  the  total  production  of 
Bessemer  steel  rails  in  the  same  year  Pennsylvania's  share  was 
48.9  per  cent.  The  first  steel  rails  ever  rolled  in  the  United  States 
upon  order,  in  the  way  of  regular  business,  were  rolled  by  the 
Cambria  Iron  Company,  at  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  in  August, 
1867,  from  ingots  made  by  the  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company. 

274 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

The  manufacture  of  steel  by  I'xie  Siemens-Martin,  or  open- 
hearth,  process  was  introduced  into  this  country  in  1868  by 
Cooper,  Hewitt  &  Co.,  at  the  works  of  the  New  Jersey  Steel  and 
Iron  Company,  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  For  many  years  this 
method  of  making  steel  made  slow  progress  in  the  United  States. 
In  August,  1875,  there  were  thirteen  establishments  in  this  coun- 
try which  were  then  making  open-hearth  steel  or  were  prepared 
to  make  it,  and  of  these  five  were  located  in  Pennsylvania,  of 
which  three  were  in  Pittsburg.  The  total  production  of  open- 
hearth  steel  in  1875  was,  however,  only  8,080  tons,  and  ten  years 
afterwards  it  was  only  133,376  tons,  but  in  1895  it  was  1,137,182 
tons,  and  in  1901  it  was  4,656,309  tons.  Of  the  total  production 
in  1901  Pennsylvania's  share  was  3,594,763  tons,  or  77.2  per 
cent. 

The  iron  age  having  been  succeeded  many  years  ago  by  the 
steel  age,  which  may  be  said  to  have  been  ushered  in  by  the  Besse- 
mer steel-making  process,  that  gave  us  the  steel  rail,  it  became  nec- 
essary for  Pennsylvania  to  seek  for  ores  of  purer  quality  than 
those  which,  as  a  rule,  are  found  inside  its  own  boundaries. 
These  better  ores  it  has  found  mainly  in  the  Lake  Superior 
region,  and  they  have  for  many  years  formed  the  basis  of  its  vast 
iron  and  steel  industries.  Other  ores  adapted  to  the  manufacture 
of  steel  have  been  imported  from  Europe,  Africa,  and  Cuba.  The 
first  use  of  Lake  Superior  iron  ore  in  any  blast  furnace  in  this 
country  occurred  in  1853,  at  Sharpsville  furnace,  in  Mercer  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  then  owned  by  David  and  John  P.  Agnew,  and 
in  the  same  year  it  was  used  at  Clay  furnace,  in  the  same  county, 
at  both  furnaces  successfully.  After  1856  other  furnaces  in 
Pennsylvania  and  in  other  States  began  the  regular  use  of  Lake 
Superior  ore.  Cuban  iron  ore  was  first  used  in  1884  at  furnaces 
in  Eastern  Pennsylvania  owned  by  the  Bethlehem  Iron  Company 
and  the  Pennsylvania  Steel  Company. 

At  the  Siberian  rolling  mill  of  Rogers  &  Burchfield,  at  Leech- 
burg,  in  Armstrong  county,  natural  gas,  taken  from  a  well  1,200 

275 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

feet  deep,  was  first  used  as  a  fuel  in  the  puddling  furnace.  In  the 
fall  of  1874  it  was  announced  that  during  the  preceding  six 
months  this  gas  had  furnished  all  the  fuel  required  for  puddling, 
heating,  and  making  steam  at  these  works,  not  one  bushel  of  coal 
having  been  used.  Soon  afterwards  the  firm  of  Spang,  Chalfant 
&  Co.,  owners  of  the  Etna  Iron  Works,  at  Etna,  Allegheny  coun- 
ty, introduced  the  use  of  natural  gas  in  all  their  departments. 
They  were  the  first  manufacturers  in  the  United  States  to  use  the 
new  fuel  exclusively.  In  1901  there  were  45  iron  and  steel  works 
in  Allegheny  county  which  used  natural  gas  and  28  works  in  other 
parts  of  Western  Pennsylvania  which  used  this  fuel.  In  other 
parts  of  the  country  there  were  44  works  using  natural  gas  in 
this  year. 

In  the  census  year  18 10  there  were  in  Pennsylvania  44  blast 
furnaces,  78  forges,  4  bloomaries,  18  rolling  and  slitting  mills,  6 
air  furnaces,  50  trip-hammers,  5  steel  furnaces,  and  175  naileries. 
The  furnaces  produced  26,878  gross  tons  of  "cast  iron,"  the  prod- 
uct of  the  whole  country,  with  153  blast  and  air  furnaces,  being 
53,908  tons.  Of  the  5  steel  furnaces  in  Pennsylvania  one  was  in 
Philadelphia  city  and  one  each  was  in  Philadelphia,  Lancaster, 
Dauphin,  and  Fayette  counties,  and  their  product  was  531  tons  of 
steel  valued  at  $81,147,  the  whole  country  making  917  tons. 

In  the  census  year  1820  the  value  of  all  manufactures  of  pig 
iron  and  castings  in  the  United  States  was  $2,230,275,  of  which 
Pennsylvania  produced  $563,810  worth.  In  the  same  year  the 
country  produced  "manufactures  of  wrought  iron"  valued  at 
$4,640,669,  of  which  Pennsylvania's  share  was  $1,156,266. 
Quantities  were  not  ascertained. 

In  the  census  year  1830  the  value  of  pig  iron  and  castings 
manufactured  in  the  United  States  was  $4,757,403,  of  which  the 
share  of  Pennsylvania  was  $1,643,702.  In  the  same  year  the 
country's  production  of  "manufactures  of  wrought  iron"  was 
valued  at  $16,737,251,  of  which  Pennsylvania's  share  was  $3,762,- 
847.     Quantities  were  not  ascertained. 

276 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

In  the  census  year  1840  there  were  in  the  United  States  804 
furnaces,  which  produced  in  that  year  286,903  tons  of  "cast  iron." 
Pennsylvania  had  213  furnaces  and  made  98,395  tons  of  "cast 
iron."  In  the  same  year  there  were  795  bloomaries,  forges,  and 
rohing  mihs  in  the  country,  of  which  Pennsylvania  had  169.  The 
number  of  tons  of  bar  iron  produced  in  that  year  was  197,233,  of 
which  Pennsylvania's  share  was  87,244. 

In  1842  there  were  151,885  tons  of  pig  iron  produced  in 
Pennsylvania.  Its  production  of  pig  iron  in  1843  was  190,000 
tons,  and  in  1844  it  was  246,000  tons.  In  1846  there  were  317 
blast  furnaces,  producing  368,056  tons  of  pig  iron,  and  in  1847 
there  were  the  same  number,  producing  389,350  tons  of  pig  iron. 
The  production  of  the  furnaces  in  1849  was  253,035  tons;  of  the 
bloomaries,  335  tons ;  of  the  forges,  28,495  tons ;  and  of  the  roll- 
ing mills,  108,358  tons. 

In  the  census  year  1850  there  were  produced  in  the  United 
States  563,755  tons  of  pig  iron,  of  which  Pennsylvania  produced 
285,702  tons.  In  the  same  year  the  country  produced  "wrought- 
iron  manufactures"  to  the  amount  of  $22,629,271,  of  which 
Pennsylvania's  share  was  $9,224,256. 

In  the  census  year  i860  the  United  States  produced  51,290 
tons  of  blooms,  worth  $2,623,178,  of  which  Pennsylvania  made 
24,700  tons,  worth  $1,467,450.  In  the  same  year  the  United 
States  produced  987,559  tons  of  pig  iron,  worth  $20,870,120,  of 
which  Pennsylvania  produced  580,049  tons,  worth  $11,262,974. 
In  the  same  year  the  United  States  produced  513,213  tons  of 
rolled  iron,  worth  $31,888,705,  of  which  Pennsylvania  produced 
266,253  tons,  worth  $15,122,842.  In  the  same  year  the  United 
States  produced  11,838  tons  of  steel,  worth  $1,778,240,  of  which 
Pennsylvania  produced  9,890  tons,  worth  $1,338,200. 

In  the  census  year  1870  the  United  States  produced  110,808 
tons  of  blooms,  worth  $7,647,054,  of  which  Pennsylvania  made 
68,238  tons,  worth  $4,881,431.  In  the  same  year  the  United 
States  produced  2,052,821  tons  of  pig  iron,  worth  $69,640,498, 

277 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

of  which  Pennsylvania  produced  1,033,272  tons,  worth  $32,- 
636,410.  In  the  same  year  the  United  States  produced  1,468,312 
tons  of  rolled  iron,  worth  $120,311,158,  of  which  Pennsylvania 
made  713,331  tons,  worth  $56,811,975.     In  two  establishments 


John   White   Geary 

Superintendent  Allegheny  Portage  railroad; 
soldier  in  Mexican  war;  first  postmaster  and 
first  mayor  of  San  Francisco,  California;  ter- 
ritorial governor  of  Kansas,  1856;  brigadier 
general  United  States  volunteers,  1862;  brevet 
major-general,  i86s;  governor  of  Pennsylvania, 
1867-1873 

the  United  States  in  the  same  year  produced  19,403  tons  of  Bes- 
semer steel,  worth  $1,818,220,  of  which  Pennsylvania,  in  one 
establishment,  produced  13,500  tons,  worth  $1,405,000.  In  the 
same  year,  not  including  Bessemer  steel,  the  United  States  pro- 
duced 30,354  tons  of  steel,  worth  $7,791,766,  of  which  Pennsyl- 
vania ])n)duced  21,806  tons,  worth  $5,560,238. 


278 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

In  the  calendar  year  1880  Pennsylvania  made  48.5  per  cent, 
of  the  country's  total  production  of  pig  iron  in  that  year;  46.8 
per  cent,  of  all  the  rolled  iron  produced ;  and  46  per  cent,  of  the 
total  production  of  iron  and  steel  rails. 

Since  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  Penn- 
sylvania has  been  noted  as  the  leading  iron  and  steel  making 
State  in  the  Union.  For  many  years  it  has  produced  one-half  of 
all  the  pig-iron,  one-half  of  all  the  rolled  iron,  and  more  than  one- 
half  of  all  the  steel  made  in  the  United  States.  In  1890  it  made 
48  per  cent,  of  the  large  production  of  pig  iron  in  that  year;  61 
per  cent,  of  the  Bessemer  steel  ingots  produced;  70  per  cent, 
of  the  Bessemer  steel  rails;  81  per  cent,  of  the  open-hearth  steel; 
75  per  cent,  of  the  crucible  steel ;  52  per  cent,  of  the  rolled  iron ; 
and  54  per  cent,  of  the  rolled  steel  other  than  steel  rails. 

In  1901  Pennsylvania  made  46.2  per  cent,  of  the  country's 
total  production  of  pig  iron  in  that  year;  49.2  per  cent,  of  the 
Bessemer  steel;  77.2  per  cent,  of  the  open-hearth  steel;  71.9  per 
cent,  of  the  crucible  steel ;  48.9  per  cent,  of  the  Bessmer  steel  rails ; 
91.4  per  cent,  of  the  structural  shapes;  69.7  per  cent,  of  the  plates 
and  sheets;  28.3  per  cent,  of  the  wire  rods;  and  56.4  per  cent,  of 
all  rolled  iron  and  steel  products. 

The  following  table,  compiled  by  the  American  Iron  and  Steel 
Association,  gives  the  production  of  iron  ore,  pig  iron,  steel,  etc., 
in  Pennsylvania  in  1901,  compared  with  the  production  of  the 
whole  country.  The  preeminence  of  Pennsylvania  as  an  iron  and 
steel  producer  is  really  marvelous.  The  small  percentage  of  iron 
ore  it  produces  is  also  remarkable.  It  is  accounted  for  by  the 
superior  quality  of  the  ores  of  Lake  Superior,  which  are  now 
chiefly  used  in  all  the  Northern  States,  and  to  a  less  extent  in  a 
few  other  localities,  in  the  production  of  pig  iron  for  steel- 
making  purposes,  as  well  as  for  the  manufacture  of  general  roll- 
ing mill  and  foundry  products.  Large  quantities  of  steel-making 
ore  are  also  imported  into  Pennsylvania  from  Cuba  and  other 
countries. 


279 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 


Production  of  iron  ore,  pig  iron,  steel,  etc.,  in  the 

United  States  and  Pennsylvania  in  the 

calendar  year  1901. 


Total  production  of  iron  ore 

Total  production  of  pig  iron 

Production  of  Bessemer  steel  ingots  and 
castings    

Production  of  open  hearth  steel  ingots 
and    castings 

Production  of  crucible  and  other  steel  ingots 
and    castings 

Total  production  of  steel  ingots  and  castings, 

Production  of   Bessemer  steel   rails 

Production  of   structural   shapes 

Production  of  plates  and  sheets 

Production  of  wire  rods 

Production  of  all  other  rolled  products,  in- 
cluding bars,  skelp,  cut  nails,  open-hearth 

steel  rails,  iron  rails,  etc 

Total  of  all  rolled  products 

Production  of  wire  nails.  ..  .kegs  of  100  lbs. 

Production  of  cut  nails kegs  of  100  lbs. 


United   States. 
Gross  tons. 


28,887,479 

15,878,354 

8,713,302 
4,656,309 

103,984 

13,473,595 
2,870,816 
1,013,150 
2,254,425 
1,365,934 


4,845,002 

12,349,327 

9,803,822 

1,542,240 


Pennsyl- 
vania. 
Gross  tons. 


1,040,684 

7,343,257 

4,293,439 

3,594,763 

74,800 
7,963,002 
1,406,008 

925,940 
1,572,500 

386,037 


2,672,183 

6,962,668 

3,118,508 

833,469 


Percentage 
of  Penn- 
sylvania. 


3.6 

46  .  2 

49.2 
77.2 
71.9 

59-1 
48.9 
91.4 
69.7 
28.3 


55-2 
56.4 
31.8 
54-0 


ANTHRACITE  COAL 

Geologists  agree  in  a  general  way  as  to  the  composition  of 
coal.  They  say  that  it  is  for  the  most  part  the  remains  of  vegetable 
matter  which  has  become  decomposed  and  mineralized.  Anthra- 
cite varies  in  color  from  glistening  black  to  lead  gray,  is  hard  and 
clean,  ignites  with  difficulty,  burns  almost  without  smoke  and 
produces  intense  heat. 

The  production  of  anthracite  coal  in  Pennsylvania  gives  direct 
employment  to  nearly  150,000  persons;  and,  incidentally,  it  may 
1)6  mentioned  that  females  are  not  allowed  to  work  in  the  col- 
lieries. (In  England,  Scotland  and  France,  within  the  last  few 
years,  women  and  children  have  been  employed  in  carrying  coal 
from  the  interior  of  the  mines  to  the  surface.) 


280 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

It  is  estimated  that  the  anthracite  fields  of  Pennsylvania  now 
contain  about  14,453,397,600  cubic  yards  of  coal;  each  cubic  yard 
weighs  2,240  pounds,  hence  the  weight  of  the  entire  coal  deposit 
may  be  fairly  estimated  at  32,375,710,624,000  pounds.  Mining 
engineers  assert,  on  the  basis  of  these  computations,  that  the  sup- 
ply of  anthracite  yet  to  be  mined  will  last  from  eighty  to  one  hun- 
dred years. 

The  geological  survey  of  the  State,  1885,  separates  the  anthra- 
cite region^  into  the  following  divisions  : 

1.  The  Soutliern  or  Pottsville  Field  extends  from  Lehigh 
river  at  Mauch  Chunk  southwest  to  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
Susquehanna  river,  and  thence  nearly  north  to  Harrisburg,  com- 
prising the  territory  of  Carbon,  Schuylkill  and  Dauphin  counties. 
The  eastern  end  of  this  field,  known  as  the  Lower  Lehigh  or  Pan- 
ther creek  basin,  between  Tamaqua,  on  the  Little  Schuylkill,  and 
Mauch  Chunk,  has  generally  been  included  by  the  coal  trade  in 
the  Lehigh  field,  from  the  fact  that  its  coal  more  closely  resembles 
that  obtained  in  the  Upper  Lehigh  region  than  that  in  the  Potts- 
ville field  west  of  Tamaqua,  and  also  from  the  fact  that  shipments 
from  it  to  market  have  been  made  largely  through  the  Lehigh 
valley. 

2.  The  Western  Middle  or  Mahanoy  and  Shamokin  Field  lies 
between  the  easternmost  headwaters  of  Little  Schuylkill  river  and 
the  Susquehanna,  and  within  Schuylkill,  Columbia  and  North- 
umberland counties.  These  two  coal  fields  (i  and  2)  are  fre- 
quently designated  in  a  general  way  as  the  Schuylkill  region, 
although  parts  of  them  are  better  known  by  the  trade  names  defin- 
ing the  districts  from  which  coals  of  special  characteristics  are 
mined. 

^In   tlie    American    Cyclopedia    (1873),    S.  square   miles.     The  statement  regarding  the 

H.     Daddow    gives    the    total    area    of    the  extent    of    the    anthracite    fields    was    based 

anthracite    fields    in     Pennsylvania    as    472  upon    previous    geological    surveys   and    was 

square    miles,    and    divides    the    region    as  presumably  correct  at  the  time,  but  in   fact 

follows:    Wyoming  field,    198   square   miles;  the    area    of    the    fields    as    shown    by    more 

Schuylkill    field,    146    square    miles;    Lehigh  recent    investigations    is    four    times   greater 

field,    37    square    miles;     Middle     Field     91  than  they  were  understood  to  be  in   1873. 

281 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

3.  The  Eastern  Middle  or  Upper  Lehigh  Field  lies  between 
Lehigh  river  and  Catawissa  creek,  and  principally  in  Luzerne 
county,  with  limited  areas  extending  into  Carbon,  Schuylkill  and 
Columbia  counties. 

4.  The  Northern  or  Wyoming  and  Lackazvanna  Field,  in  the 
two  valleys  from  which  it  derives  its  name,  is  embraced  almost 


Slocum  Hollow,  1840 

The  site  of  the  present  city  of  Scranton.     From 
an  old  print 

entirely  by  Luzerne  and  Lackawanna  counties.  A  small  area  in 
the  extreme  eastern  end  extends  into  Wayne  and  Susquehanna 
counties. 

5.  The  Loyalsock  and  Mehoopany  Field,  within  the  areas 
drained  by  the  headwaters  of  the  Loyalsock  and  Mehoopany 
creeks,  is  included  in  Sullivan  and  Wyoming  counties.  This  field 
is  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  miles  northwest  of  the  western 
end  of  the  northern  field.  Its  geological  structure  closely  resem- 
bles that  of  the  bituminous  field,  in  whicli  it  has  until  recentlv  been 
included,  although  the  composition  of  much  of  its  coal  entitles  it 
to  rank  with  that  of  the  anthracite  region  generally. 


282 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

The  geographical  divisions  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields  above 
mentioned  are  also,  for  trade  purposes,  sometimes  grouped  as  fol- 
lows :  The  Wyoming,  embracing  the  whole  of  the  northern  and 
Loyalsock  fields;  the  Lehigh,  embracing  all  of  the  eastern  and 
part  of  the  southern  field ;  the  Schuylkill,  embracing  the  western 
and  part  of  the  southern  field.  The  Wyoming  is  by  far  the  most 
important  of  these  regions,  fully  50  per  cent,  of  the  total  output 
of  anthracite  coming  from  it.  The  Schuylkill  provides  35  per 
cent,  of  the  output  and  the  Lehigh  region  15  per  cent.  The  fol- 
lowing table  shows  the  relative  importance  of  the  different  coun- 
ties of  the  anthracite  region  to  the  coal  trade  by  giving  the  num- 
ber of  tons  and  percentages  of  coal  produced  in  each  county  for 
the  years  1883  and  1884: 


County. 


Susquehanna    .. . 
Lackawanna     . .  . 

Luzerne 

Sullivan     

Carbon     

Schuylkill    

Columbia     

Northumberland 
Dauphin    


Production 

Per- 

Production 

Per 

in  tons. 

centages. 

in  tons. 

cent. 

30,945 

0.09 

77,058 

00.24 

7,022,241 

20.68 

7,093,190 

21.73 

14,176,487 

41.75 

13,382,912 

41.00 

84,376 

00.25 

86,018 

00.26 

1,007,419 

2.97 

1,155,916 

3-54 

7,758,811 

22.85 

7,165,532 

21.96 

774,755 

2.28 

745,826 

2.28 

2,497,801 

7-36 

2,331,108 

7-14 

602,996 

1.77 

603,939 

1.85 

At  the  time  indicated  in  the  preceding  table  the  area  of  anthra- 
cite deposits  was  supposed  to  be  something  less  than  one  thou- 
sand square  miles,  but  more  recent  investigations  have  shown  that 
this  coal  abounds  throughout  a  territory  of  about  seventeen  hun- 
dred square  miles.  The  table  shows  nine  counties  in  which  an- 
thracite was  produced  in  1884,  whereas,  at  the  present  time, 
Wayne  is  to  be  added  to  the  list  as  a  considerable  factor  in  the 
production,  there  having  been  mined  within  its  borders  in  1901 
the  aggregate  of  329,877  tons  of  coal. 


283 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

In  its  supervision  of  the  mining  properties  of  the  State,  the 
legislature,  by  an  act  passed  June  8,  190 1,  directed  the  chief  of 
the  bureau  of  mines  to  rearrange  the  anthracite  inspection  dis- 
tricts on  the  basis  of  the  number  of  mines  engaged  in  coal  produc- 
tion, number  of  employes  and  the  number  of  accidents,  as  shown 
by  the  report  of  the  bureau  for  the  year  1900.  Under  the  act  the 
districts  were  comprised  as  follows : 

First  District — Luzerne  and  Sullivan  counties.  Second  Dis- 
trict— Lackawanna,  Wayne  and  Sullivan  counties.  Third  Dis- 
trict— Carbon  county.  Fourth  District — Schuylkill  county. 
Fifth  District — Northumberland  county.  Sivth  District — Co- 
lumbia and  Dauphin  counties. 

The  following  table,  prepared  by  the  secretary  of  internal 
affairs,  shows  the  number  of  tons  of  anthracite  produced  in  each 
of  these  counties  during  the  last  ten  years.  Taken  in  connection 
with  what  is  said  elsewhere  in  this  chapter,  the  table  furnishes  an 
interesting  study  relating  to  the  importance  of  coal  production  in 
our  Commonwealth. 

Production  of  anthracite  coal  in  tons  by  counties  from  1892 
to  1 90 1,  inclusive: 


Counties 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

Carbon     

Columbia     

1,427,542.55 

889,489.85 

639,879.00 

11,410,553.95 

17,548,598.00 

3,724,233.70 

9,564,534.60 

76,209.65 

475,622.30 

1,510,289.50 

741,990.74 

640,723.17 

11,667,550.25 

18,253,144.75 

3,731,404.63 

9,992,208 .  97 

70,418.00 

571,956.19 

1,589,395 

510,537 

699,607 

11,170,382 

17,243.928 

3,893,660 

9,985.092 

413,578 

1,577,146 

493,042 

712,856 

11,859,382 

19,143,101 

4,573,144 
11,495,388 

152,141 
840,904 

Dauphin     

Lackawanna     

Luzerne     

Northumberland     

Schuylkill    

Sullivan     

Susquehanna    

Wavne     

Total    

45,858,371.00 

47,179,563.20 

,45,506,179 

50,846,104 

NATURAL    RESOURCES 


Counties 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1901 

Carbon 

1,488,550 

1,327,235 

1,043,663 

Columbia 

443.330 

481,453 

569,17s 

895,061 

875.643 

1,080,231 

Dauphin    

702,335 

662,842 

667,460 

729,757 

695,656 

741,582 

Lackawanna  . . . 

11,638,479 

1 1,946,871 

11,588,801 

13,248,949 

12,282,108 

15,409,040 

Luzerne    

17,964,900 

17,141,809 

18,195,398 

19,899,742 

19,179,573 

21,396,312 

Northumberland 

4.117,569 

3,774,667 

3,519,305 

4.339,547 

4,188,343 

4,849,009 

Schuylkill 

1 1,092,772 

10,971,943 

1 1,980,700 

12,226,938 

1 1,606,160 

13,640,766 

Sullivan   

151,758 

164,046 

147.533 

163,555 

209,922 

136,165 

Susquehanna'. . . . 

474.637 

476,488 

423,139 

624,125 

496,432 

663,487 

Wayne 

275.955 

19,520 

329,877 

Total 

48,074,330 

46,947,354 

47,145,174 

54,034,224 

51,217,318 

59,905,951 

As  before  stated,  it  is  estimated  that  the  anthracite  coal  sup- 
ply will  last  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  years.  Mr.  Joseph 
Harris,  in  an  article  in  Vol.  XIII  of  "The  Forum,''  says  that  there 
are  5,329,451,404  tons  yet  to  be  mined.  Mr.  A.  D.  Smith  com- 
putes the  amount  yet  to  be  mined  at  6,512,167,703  tons,  and  Mr. 
William  Griffiths,  the  mining  engineer,  says  in  the  "Bond  Record" 
in  1896  that  there  are  5,073,786,000  tons  yet  available.  While  it 
may  be  true  that  the  life  of  anthracite  coal  in  this  country  will  not 
extend  beyond  the  period  above  mentioned,  there  is  consolation 
in  the  fact  that  we  have  practically  an  inexhaustible  supply  of 
bituminous  coal.  The  late  Professor  Tyndall,  of  England,  in  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Jervis,  wrote  as  follows : 

"I  see  no  prospect  of  any  substitute  being  found  for  coal  as  a 
source  of  motive  power.  We  have,  it  is  true,  our  winds  and 
streams  and  tides,  and  we  have  the  beams  of  the  sun.  But  these 
are  common  to  all  the  world.  We  cannot  take  lead  against  a 
nation  which,  in  addition  to  those  sources  of  power,  possesses  the 
power  of  coal.  We  may  enjoy  a  multiple  of  their  physical  and 
intellectual  energy,  and  still  be  unable  to  hold  our  own  against  a 
people  which  possesses,  abundance  of  coal,  and  we  should  have,  in 
my  opinion,  no  chance  whatever  in  a  race  with  a  nation  which,  in 
addition  to  abundant  coal,  has  energy  and  intelligence  approxi- 
mately equal  to  our  own." 


285 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 


Professor  Tyndall  had  America  in  mind,  no  doubt,  when  he 
wrote  the  above  letter,  and  the  inferences  drawn  from  it  are  so 
obvious  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  mention  them  here. 

"America,  with  her  immense  coal  fields,  is  destined  to  become 
eventually  the  great  coal-producer  of  the  world,"  is  the  predic- 
tion made  a  few  years  ago  by  Mr.  Simonin,  an  eminent  French 
engineer. 

Mr.  William  Jasper  Nicholls,  in  his  work,  "The  Story  of 
American  Coals,"  gives  the  following  table  showing  the  world's 
progress  in  the  production  of  coal  during  the  past  fifty  years : 


Great  Britain 
LInited  States 
Germany    . .  . . 

France    

Austria    

Belgium    . .  . . 

Russia    

Canada    

Japan    

Spain    

New   Zealand 

Sweden    

Italy    

Total    ... 


1845 


55,227,620 


1895 


34,754,750 

184,044,890 

3,763-013 

182,352,774 

6,500,000 

103,851,090 

4,141,617 

28,862,017 

700,000 

28,037,678 

4,447,240 

21,590,448 

600,000 

7,62 1 ,969 

100,000 

3,719,170 

100,000 

3,400,000 

50,000 

1,688,820 

1,000 

673,315 

60,000 

421,155 

10,000 

326,340 

566,589,666 


Anthracite  coal  was  discovered'  in  the  Wyoming  valley  in 
1766,  and  soon  afterward  James  Tilghman  of  Philadelphia  sent 
samples  of  the  article  to  Thomas  and  William  Penn,  in  London, 


'Anthracite  was  discovered  in  Rhode 
Island  and  also  in  Massachusetts  about 
1760.  Since  that  time  similar  discoveries 
have  been  made  in  Virginia,  Arkansas,  Ore- 
gon and  New  Mexico,  while  Kansas  has 
laid    claims    to    small    deposits    in    several 


localities.  In  1840  Virginia  produced  200 
tons  of  anthracite,  but  during  the  next 
twenty  years  the  total  output  from  that 
State  was  only  about  20,000  tons.  In  i860 
anthracite  was  mined  for  markets  only  in 
Rhode  Island  and  Pennsylvania,  the  former 


286 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

with  the  remark  :  "This  l)ed  of  coal,  situated,  as  it  is,  on  the  side 
of  the  river,  may  some  day  or  other  be  of  great  vahie."  In 
acknowledging  recci])t  of  the  package,  Thomas  Penn  said  :  "\Vc 
shall  have  it  examined  by  some  i)ersons  skillfnl  in  that  article  and 
send  their  observation  on  it." 

In  1768  two  brothers  named  Gore,  who  were  early  settlers  in 
the  Wyoming  valley,  are  said  to  have  l:)een  the  first  j)ersons  to  use 
coal  in  these  regions.  They  were  blacksmiths,  and  used  it  in 
their  forges.  An  account  published  in  1770  tends  to  show  that 
coal  deposits  were  known  to  extend  into  the  northern  portions  of 
Mahanoy  and  Shamokin,  but  no  mining  of  consequence  was  done 
in  those  localities  until  1834.  Philip  Ginter,  a  hunter,  is  said  to 
have  discovered  coal  near  the  site  of  Mauch  Chunk  in  1791. 

Coal  was  discovered  at  Plymouth  in  1805,  by  John  and  Abi- 
jah  Smith,  brothers,  who  had  come  from  Connecticut  a  short 
time  before.  In  1807  they  shipped  the  first  boat  load  of  coal  to 
Columbia,  but  as  anthracite  was  not  understood  at  that  time  as 
being  suitable  for  fuel  in  an  open  grate,  they  accompanied  the 
load  and  also  took  with  them  a  stone-mason  and  the  tools  neces- 
sary to  set  up  plates  in  the  houses  to  show  its  cjualities  for  heating 
purposes.  In  Columbia  several  houses  were  supplied  with  grates 
in  which  stone  coal,  as  anthracite  was  then  called,  was  used  for 
fuel,  and  only  after  a  struggle  of  several  years  were  the  Smiths 
able  to  derive  any  profit   whatever  from  their  enterprise. 

In  1808  Judge  Jesse  Fell  of  Wilkesbarre  became  possessed  of 
the  idea  that  stone  coal  could  be  made  to  burn  in  an  open  grate, 
and  to  that  end  he  reasoned  that  if  it  would  burn  sufficiently  well 
to  destroy  a  wooden  grate  he  would  feel  justified  in  constructing 
one  of  iron.  His  experiment  proved  successful,  and,  encouraged 
by  his  effort,  he  made  an  iron  grate,  shaped  it  after  the  fashion 

State  producing  a  very  small  proportion  of  tions   in   general    the    reader   is   referred   to 

the  total  output,  and  that  inferior  in  quality  the   various   works   on    that   subject   written 

in   comparison   with   the   coal   production   of  by   Mr.   James   M.    Swank,   by   Mr.   William 

our    own    State.     For    more    detailed    state-  Jasper   Nicholls,  and  also  to  the   writings  of 

ment   of   the   early   history   of   coal   produc-  their  contemporaries. 

287 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

of  grates  now  in  use,  and  did  succeed  in  kindling  a  good  fire.  His 
achievement  at  that  time  was  regarded  as  bordering  on  the  mar- 
velous, and  the  good  judge  himself,  elated  with  the  success  of  his 
performance,  made  note  of  the  wonderful  event  on  a  fly-leaf  in  a 
volume  of  "The  Free-Mason's  Monitor,"  in  these  words :  "Feb- 
ruary II,  of  Masonry  5808.  Made  the  experiment  of  burning 
the  common  stone  coal  of  the  valley  in  a  grate,  in  a  common  fire- 
place in  my  house,  and  find  it  will  answer  the  purpose  of  fuel,  mak- 
ing a  clearer  and  better  fire,  at  less  expense,  than  burning  wood 
in  the  common  way.  (Signed)     Jesse  Fell.  . 

"Borough  of  Wilkes-Barre,  February  11,  1808." 

Local  history  in  the  anthracite  region  abounds  in  interesting 
reminiscences  of  the  early  attempts  to  burn  hard  coal,  and  some 
tales  are  related  which  indicate  that  those  who  then  advocated  the 
use  of  that  commodity  as  a  fuel  substitute  for  wood,  and  offered  it 
for  sale  as  such,  were  regarded  as  impostors  and  frauds  upon  the 
public ;  but  within  the  brief  space  of  a  score  of  years  after  Judge 
Fell  accomplished  his  miraculous  feat,  stone  coal  as  a  fuel  began 
to  come  into  use,  and  some  small  shipments  thereof  to  eastern 
markets  were  made.  Previous  to  about  1820  all  attempts  to  bring 
anthracite  into  general  use  were  simply  a  part  of  what  may  be 
termed  the  formative  period,  a  period  of  uncertainty  and  doubt  to 
which  all  the  great  reform  movements  of  whatever  kind  must  be 
subjected  before  their  results  become  accepted  by  the  people  who 
have,  in  all  ages,  constituted  our  great  American  brotherhood. 

Authorities  seem  to  agree  that  the  first  shipment  of  anthracite 
coal  in  the  United  States  was  that  sent  down  the  Susquehanna  in 
1776  from  mines  at  Wyoming  to  Harrisburg,  and  thence  trans- 
ported in  wagons  to  the  federal  armory  at  Carlisle,  where  it  was 
used  throughout  the  war  in  the  manufacture  of  firearms.  In  1803 
five  arks,  containing  200  tons  of  coal,  were  shipped  by  way  of  the 
Lehigh  and  Delaware  rivers  to  Philadelphia,  but  on  the  passage 
down  three  of  the  arks  were  wrecked,  and  when  the  remaining 
two  reached  their  destination  their  cargoes  found  no  sale  in  the 

288 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

market,  and  were  consequently  thrown  away,  for  the  people  could 
not  make  use  of  fuel  coal  at  that  time. 

In  1812,  according  to  a  contemporary  writer,  Colonel  George 
Shoemaker  of  Pottsville  took  nine  wagon-loads  of  coal  to  Phila- 
delphia, and,  with  much  difficulty,  succeeded  in  selling  two  of  the 
loads,  but  gave  away  the  remaining  seven.  He  was  denounced 
as  an  impostor  in  attempting  to  sell  stones  to  the  people  under  the 
pretense  that  it  was  coal,  and  only  with  much  difficulty  did  he 
escape  from  the  city  without  arrest.  In  18 15  Wihiam  and  Morris 
Wirtz  sent  an  ark-load  of  coal  through  the  Lackawaxen  and  Del- 
aware rivers  to  Philadelphia,  and  there  made  a  sale  of  it  at  prices 
varying  from  ten  to  twelve  dollars  per  ton.  In  1823  the  first 
cargo  of  anthracite  was  shipped  around  Cape  Cod  and  delivered 
at  the  Boston  iron  works,  where  it  was  regarded  as  superior  to 
the  Rhode  Island  coal.  In  1825,  at  Phoenixville,  in  this  State, 
anthracite  was  first  successfully  used  for  generating  steam.  Nu- 
merous instances  of  attempts,  successful  and  otherwise,  to  make 
use  of  anthracite  coal  for  domestic  and  manufacturing  purposes 
are  found  in  various  published  accounts,  but  the  above  will  suf- 
fice to  show  something  of  the  difficulties  encountered  in  introduc- 
ing that  commodity  during  the  early  years  of  the  last  century. 

In  relation  to  the  expense  of  early  and  more  recent  transpor- 
tation, it  may  be  said  that  the  cost  to  Colonel  Shoemaker  in  haul- 
ing his  first  nine  wagon  loads  of  coal  from  Pottsville  to  Philadel- 
phia w-as  $28  per  ton;  to-day  the  cost  of  transportation  by  rail 
between  the  same  points  is  $1.70  per  ton.  All  early  efforts  in  tak- 
ing coal  to  market  by  wagon  were  unprofitable,  while  boat  navi- 
gation on  the  rivers,  although  less  expensive  than  wagon  trans- 
portation, was  hazardous,  and  shippers  frequently  calculated  on 
the  loss  of  some  of  their  boats  and  cargoes.  A  little  later  canals 
were  built,  at  great  cost,  and  while  they  afforded  comparatively 
safe  shipping  facilities,  and  for  many  years  did  an  immense  busi- 
ness, they  failed  to  give  entirely  satisfactory  results,  and  eventu- 
ally were  superseded  by  the  railroad.      Sixty  years  ago,  under 

3-19  289 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

favorable  conditions,  the  journey  from  Scranton  to  Philadelphia 
required  almost  three  days ;  to-day  the  same  distance  is  traveled 
in  a  little  more  than  four  hours.     In  early  times  coal  from  the 


Burned   anthracite  coal  in   grate,   1808.     Repro- 
duced by  courtesy  of  Oscar  Jewell  Harvey 


Lackawanna  and  Carbondale  districts  was  sent  to  New  York  by 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson  canal  from  Honesdale  to  the  Hudson 
river,  io8  miles;  by  railroad,  i8  miles,  and  by  river  navigation, 
91  miles;  total,  217  miles.     From  the  Wyoming  district  ship- 


290 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

ments  were  sent  down  the  Susquehanna  to  tide  water  at  Havre 
de  Grace,  a  distance  of  194  miles. 

In  1846  as  many  as  643  miles  of  water-ways  had  been  opened 
to  convey  anthracite  coal  to  market.  The  State  of  New  York 
aided  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  and  Pennsylvania  helped 
other  companies  to  build  canals.  The  cost  of  transportation  on 
the  canal  was,  in  1826,  1.5  cents  per  ton  mile;  in  1843,  i-^S 
cents;  in  1845,  1  cent  per  mile.  In  1833,  complaint  having  been 
made  of  the  high  price  charged  for  the  transportation  of  coal  by 
the  canal  companies,  the  State  attempted  to  limit  their  powers  in 
either  mining  or  transporting  coal.  Ijut  this  attempt  brought  no 
satisfactory  results. 

"Watson's  Annals"  says  that  "no  regular  sale  of  anthracite 
coal  was  efifected  in  the  Philadelphia  market  till  the  year  1825." 
In  1820  the  old  Lehigh  Coal  Company  sent  365  tons  to  Philadel- 
phia, "as  the  first  fruits  of  the  concern,"  and,  "little  as  that  was, 
it  completely  stocked  the  market  and  was  sold  with  difficulty.  It 
increased  each  subsequent  year  up  to  1824,  making  in  that  year  a 
delivery  of  9,541  tons.  In  1825  it  ran  up  to  28,393  tons,  and  kept 
along  at  nearly  that  rate  until  1832,  when  70.000  tons  were  deliv- 
ered. From  that  time  it  went  regularly  on  increasing,  until  now, 
in  1839,  it  has  delivered  221,850  tons.  And  now  that  it  has  got 
its  momentum,  w^ho  can  guess  w'here  it  will  end?" 

Another  well-known  writer  says  that  "up  to  1820  the  total 
amount  of  coal  sent  from  Wyoming  is  reckoned  at  8,500  tons," 
and  also  that  Colonel  Washington  Lee  mined  and  sent  to  Balti- 
more 1,000  tons  of  coal,  which  were  sold  for  $8  a  ton. 

In  1 83 1  the  North  Branch  Canal  was  completed  to  the  Nanti- 
coke  dam,  and  John  Coons  sent  the  first  boat,  the  "Wyoming," 
with  a  load  of  anthracite,  some  flour  and  other  merchandise  to 
Philadelphia.  The  route  of  the  Wyoming  was  down  the  Sus- 
quehanna to  Northumberland,  where  it  entered  the  Pennsylvania 
Canal,  and  thence  by  way  of  the  Union  and  Schuylkill  canals  to 
Philadelphia. 

291 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

The  early  use  of  anthracite  in  industrial  pursuits  is  thus  re- 
ferred to  in  the  geological  survey  of  Pennsylvania:  "The first  use 
of  anthracite  in  connection  with  the  manufacture  of  iron  dates 
from  1 8 12,  when  White  &  Hazard  purchased  one  of  nine  wagon 
loads  from  the  Schuylkill  region  at  the  cost  of  transportation,  and 
successfully  used  the  coal  in  heating  the  furnace  of  their  nail  and 
wire  mill  at  the  Falls  of  Schuylkill.  The  first  successful  use  of 
anthracite  as  an  exclusive  fuel  in  the  blast  furnace  was  at  the 
Pioneer  furnace,  built  during  1837  and  1838,  at  Pottsville,  by 
William  Lyman  of  Boston.  The  first  successful  blast  was  blown 
in  at  this  furnace  on  October  19,  1839.  In  recognition  of  the 
results  obtained  in  this  furnace,  Mr.  Lyman  was  paid  a  premium 
of  $5,000  by  Nicholas  Biddle  and  others,^  as  being  the  first  person 
in  the  United  States  who  had  made  anthracite  pig  iron  continu- 
ously for  100  days.  As  early  as  1824  attempts  had  been  made  to 
use  anthracite  mixed  with  charcoal  in  charcoal  furnaces.  These 
and  many  subsequent  attempts  prior  to  1839  seem  to  have  all 
met  with  failure.  On  July  3,  1840,  David  Thomas  successfully 
blew  in  a  furnace  which  he  had  built  for  the  Lehigh  Crane  Iron 
Company  at  Catasauqua,  on  the  Lehigh  river." 

In  treating  of  the  introduction  of  anthracite  and  bituminous 
coal  in  the  manufacture  of  pig  iron,  so  good  an  authority  as  Mr. 
Swank'  says  that  this  "innovation  at  once  caused  a  revolution  in 
the  whole  iron  industry  of  the  country,"  and  that  "a  notable  result 
of  the  introduction  of  mineral  fuel  was  that,  while  it  restricted 
the  production  of  charcoal  pig  iron  in  the  States,  *  *  * 
which,  like  Pennsylvania,  possessed  the  new  fuel,  it  did  not  inju- 
riously afifect  the  production  of  charcoal  pig  iron  in  other  States. 
Anthracite  was  the  first  to  be  largely  used  in  American  blast  fur- 
naces, and  for  many  years  after  its  adaptability  to  the  smelting  of 
iron  ore  was  established  it  was  in  greater  demand  for  this  pur- 

'^In  another  chapter  of  this  work  Mr.  he  discusses  the  introduction  and  utility  of 
Swank  treats  at  length  of  the  iron  and  coal  in  the  production  of  those  commodi- 
steel  industry  in  Pennsylvania,  and  therein        ties. 

292 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

pose  than  bituminous  coal,  coked  or  uncoked.  In  recent  years  the 
relative  popularity  of  these  two  fuels  for  blast  furnace  use  lias 
been  exactly  reversed.  The  natural  difhculties  in  the  way  of  the 
successful  introduction  of  anthracite  coal  in  our  blast  furnaces 
w^ere  increased  l)y  the  fact  that  up  to  that  time  when  we  com- 
menced our  experiments  in  its  use.  no  other  countr_\-  had  suc- 
ceeded in  using  it  as  a  furnace  fuel." 

The  railway  appears  to  have  become  a  factor  in  the  produc- 
tion and  shipment  of  coal  in  1827,  when  a  gravity  road  was  con- 
structed from  Mauch  Chunk  to  the  Summit  mines,  a  distance  of 
nine  miles,  and  with  an  average  descent  of  one  hundred  feet  per 
mile  from  the  mines  to  the  river.  At  first  mule  power  was  em- 
ployed in  drawing  coal  cars  back  to  the  summit,  but  on  the  down 
trips  this  primitive  "motive  power"  was  transported  in  cars  set 
apart  for  that  purpose;  and  well  authenticated  accounts  assert 
that  the  mules,  true  to  their  kind,  having  once  enjoyed  the  pleas- 
ure of  a  ride  down  the  gravity  road,  could  not  afterward  be  per- 
suaded to  make  the  trip  afoot.  This  gravity  road  is  still  in  opera- 
tion, although  mule  power  was  soon  replaced  with  stationary 
engines  at  each  terminus.  In  1831  a  steam  railroad  was  con- 
structed to  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  company's  works,  where 
fourteen  seams  were  developed  in  1830,  wdth  an  aggregate  of  240 
feet  of  coal. 

In  1837  the  construction  of  the  Susquehanna  and  Lehigh 
Railroad  from  White  Haven  to  the  Wyoming  valley  was  begun, 
and  was  completed  in  1845.  The  first  shipment  of  coal,  5,886 
tons,  over  the  road  was  made  in  1846.  The  Beaver  Meadow 
Railroad,  opening  an  outlet  from  the  Beaver  Meadow  coal  basin, 
and  the  Hazleton  Railroad  to  the  basin  of  the  same  name,  were  in 
operation  in  1840.  The  Buck  Mountain  Company's  road  was 
nearly  finished  in  the  same  year.  The  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad 
was  opened  in  1855,  transporting  9,003  tons  of  coal  in  that  year 
and  1,295,419  tons  in  1864. 

In  treating  of  the  methods  in  use  in  the  transportation  of 

293 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

anthracite  coal  from  the  Schuylkill  region  in  1829,  the  excellent 
work  entitled  "Coal  Iron  and  Oil,"  says: 

"It  was  not  until  1827  that  rails  were  used  in  the  mines,  and 
previous  to  1829  the  coal  product  was  carted  over  common  mud 


Breaker  in  the  Anthracite  Coal  Region 

Engraved  for  this  work  from  an  original  photo- 
graph 

roads  from  the  mines  to  the  canal.  Abraham  Potts  of  Port  Car- 
bon, was  the  first  to  build  a  model  railroad  in  the  Schuylkill  region. 
It  led  from  his  mines  to  the  canal,  a  distance  of  half  a  mile.  In 
1829  the  Mill  Creek  Railroad  was  built  from  Port  Carbon  to  the 
Broad  Mountain,  about  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  St. 
Clair,  a  distance  of  about  three  miles,  and  at  a  cost  of  $3,000." 


294 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

William  Jasper  Nicholls,  in  "The  Story  of  the  American 
Coals,"  says  that  Abraham  Potts's  "railway  was  made  of  wooden 
rails  laid  on  wooden  sills  and  was  successfully  operated  in  carrying 
coal,  which,  previous  to  that  time,  was  hauled  in  wagons  to  the 
canal,  and  thence  to  market.  In  1829  the  directors  of  the  Schuylkill 
Canal  came  to  Pottsville  and  viewed  this  primitive  road  in  opera- 
tion. They  were  surprised  when  they  saw  13  railroad  cars  loaded 
with  one  and  one-half  tons  each,  and  they  were  amazed  when  Mr. 
Potts,  the  projector  of  this  corduroy  railroad,  asserted  that  in  less 
than  ten  years  a  railroad  w'ould  be  in  operation  along  the  line  of 
their  canal.  After  events  proved  that  he  was  right  in  everything 
except  as  to  time,  for  it  was  not  until  1842  that  the  first  train 
passed  over  the  extension  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Rail- 
road from  Mount  Carbon." 

In  1896,  according  to  Mining  Engineer  William  Griffiths, 
96.29  per  cent,  of  the  anthracite  mines  of  Pennsylvania  were 
owned  or  controlled,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  the  railroad  com- 
panies or  their  auxiliary  corporations,  the  coal  companies.  Since 
that  year  their  operations  have  been  extended  still  further,  and 
to-day  five  of  the  largest  companies  control  fully  90  per  cent,  of 
the  entire  anthracite  coal  fields.  These  vast  corporations,  in  some 
instances  consolidations  of  interests  of  lesser  companies,  are  in 
great  part  the  natural  outgrowth  of  trade  conditions,  and  in  an 
almost  equal  degree  the  result  of  the  later-day  tendency  toward 
concentration  of  corporate  management  in  all  the  activities  of 
business  life.  The  effects  of  this  movement  upon  the  public  wel- 
fare are  subjects  of  wide  discussion,  and  many  arguments  are  put 
forth  in  their  favor  and  against  them.  It  is  unquestioned,  how- 
ever, that  the  pooling  of  interests  on  the  part  of  the  mining  and 
transportation  companies,  so  far  as  it  is  known  to  exist,  has  been 
of  benefit  to  the  general  public. 

The  following  railroad  companies  (whether  as  such  or  in  the 
allied  capacity  01  mining  companies)  now  own  coal  lands  and  are 
engaged  in  the  transportation  of  coal  productions :     Delaware, 

295 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

Lackawanna  and  Western;  Delaware  and  Hudson;  Erie;  New 
York,  Ontario  and  Western;  New  York,  Susquehanna  and  Schuyl- 
kill ;  Pennsylavnia ;  Central  of  New  Jersey ;  Lehigh  Valley ;  and 
Philadelphia  and  Reading.  Each  company  has  branches  from  its 
main  line  which  extend  to  the  collieries  operated.  The  products 
of  the  mines,  under  normal  conditions,  constitute  about  63.2  per 
cent,  of  the  gross  tonnage  of  the  companies,  and  therefore  the 
mining  and  transportation  of  coal  has  been  to  all  of  them  in  their 
capacity  as  operators  and  common  carriers  a  principal  source  of 
revenue. 

Mr.  Griffiths  computes^  the  percentage  of  coal  field  area  con- 
trolled by  the  railroad  companies  as  follows : 

Per  Cent. 

Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western 6. 55 

Pennsylvania    6 .  24 

Central  R.  R.  of  New  Jersey i7-30 

Lehigh    Valley    16.87 

Philadelphia   &   Reading 42.25 

Delaware  &  Hudson 2.29 

Erie  &   Wyoming   Valley i  .82 

Erie    yy 

N.  Y.,  O.  &  W 28 

N.  Y.,  Sus.  &  Schuylkill 54 

Del.,    Susq.    &    Schuylkill 1.38 

Uncontrolled    Tonnage    3.71 


Total    100. 


00 


A  few  incidents  in  connection  with  the  history  of  some  of 
these  railroads-  in  relation  to  coal  mining  and  transportation  will 
be  proper  in  this  place.  The  company  now  known  as  the  Dela- 
ware, Lackawanna  and  Western,  one  of  the  most  extensive  cor- 
porations operating  in  the  anthracite  regions,  is  the  outgrowth  of 

^The    capacity    of   the   mines   is    the    basis  chapter   to   refer   more   than   incidentally   to 

upon    which    the    percentage    of    coal    pro-  the   history   of  any   of  the   railroads   of   the 

duced  is  estimated.  State,    as   that   subject    is   treated   at    length 

''It    is    not    vvilliin    the    jirovincc    of    this  under  a  separate   heading. 

296 


p 


fc 


o  c 

«  o 


u 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

the  old  Lackawanna  and  Western,  chartered  in  185 1,  and  origi- 
nally was  a  coal  carrying  road  from  Scranton  to  Great  Bend,  but 
by  the  acquisition  of  other  lines  it  reached  eastward  to  the  Dela- 
ware river,  and  a  little  later  to  tidewater  and  New  York  markets. 
More  recent  extensions  of  the  lines  westward  reached  Buffalo, 
Syracuse  and  Utica,  and  to-day  it  is  perhaps  the  heaviest  coal  car- 
rier in  New  York  State. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  dates  its  history  as  a 
coal  carrier  from  about  1857,  when  it  acquired  from  the  State  the 
main  line  of  public  works,  comprising  both  canals  and  railroads, 
extending  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh.  Now  the  company 
operates  about  13,000  miles  of  road,  extending  into  thirteen 
States.  In  1895  its  aggregate  coal  and  coke  shipment  over  lines 
between  Pittsburgh  and  Philadelphia  amounted  to  26,800,000 
tons,  or  about  57  per  cent,  of  its  total  tonnage. 

The  Central  Railroad  of  New^  Jersey,  with  its  auxiliary  leased 
lines,  is  one  of  the  most  important  and  extensive  coal  carrying 
roads  in  the  country.  It  operates  about  seven  hundred  miles  of 
railroad  in  this  State  and  New  Jersey,  and  uses  17,000  coal  cars 
in  that  department  of  its  transportation  business.  The  Lehigh 
Canal  forms  a  part  of  the  Jersey  Central  carrier  system,  and  in 
itself  is  a  historic  thoroughfare  of  traffic,  having  to  its  credit  the 
first  considerable  shipment  of  anthracite  coal  in  the  country,  and  a 
record  of  uninterrupted  operation  since  1820,  when  three  hundred 
and  sixty-five  tons  of  coal  were  sent  from  Summit  Hill  to  Phila- 
delphia. 

The  Lehigh  valley  system  extends  over  1,000  miles  of  track, 
owned  and  leased,  and  dates  its  origin  to  the  year  1847,  when  its 
ancestor,  the  Delaware,  Lehigh,  Schuylkill  and  Susquehanna 
Railroad  Company,  was  chartered.  The  annual  anthracite  ton- 
nage of  the  Lehigh  Valley  company  is  more  than  7,000,000  tons, 
exclusive  of  its  operations  in  bituminous  coal.  The  company  owns 
the  Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company  and  the  Snow  Shoe  property 
in  Centre  county,  including  about  45,000  acres  of  bituminous  coal 

299 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

ands.  It  has  ii,ooo  eight-wheel  and  20,000  four-wheel  cars  in 
its  coal  carrying  department. 

The  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad  may  be  said  to  have 
been  "brought  up"  in  the  coal  carrying  trade  and  to  have  become 
an  expert  in  that  line  of  business.  Like  the  other  large  companies, 
the  Reading  is  the  result  of  consolidation  of  shorter  lines,  by 
which  means  it  crossed  the  State,  tapped  the  richest  coal  fields  and 
carried  their  products  to  tidewater  at  Philadelphia  and  New  York, 
as  well  as  other  important  points.  In  1871  the  company  bought 
100,000  acres  of  coal  lands  for  $40,000,000,  and  began  mining 
on  its  own  account,  and  in  1873  the  interests  of  several  individual 
producers  were  added  to  its  operations.  The  company  now  ranks 
first  among  the  anthracite  coal  carrying  corporations  in  the  coun- 
try, and  is  well  equipped  for  that  especial  service.  Ten  years  ago 
it  owned  892  coal  and  freight  locomotives,  29,220  eight-wheel 
and  26,248  four-wheel  coal  cars,  487  barges,  21  steambc^ats  and 
1 5  steam  tugs  for  the  movement  of  its  coal  and  freight. 

The  Delaware  and  Hudson  company,  until  quite  recently  a 
carrying  corporation  employing  both  railroad  and  canal  service, 
is  one  of  the  oldest  operators  in  the  anthracite  fields,  and  traces  its 
history  to  the  year  1829,  although  the  canal  company  was  char- 
tered several  years  earlier.  In  1833  ^^^^  company  carried  19,000 
tons  of  coal  from  Honesdale  to  the  Hudson  river,  and  increased 
the  amount  to  150,000  tons  in  1834.  It  now  operates  thirty  col- 
lieries, which,  in  1899,  produced  4,429,575  tons  of  coal.  It  has 
688  miles  of  railroad;  the  canal  was  abandoned  five  years  ago. 

The  Erie  Railroad  tapped  the  anthracite  coal  fields  on  its  own 
account  in  1881,  when  its  management  purchased  30,000  acres  of 
land  and  in  addition  absorbed  the  Blossburg  Coal  Company.  Later 
on  other  valuable  properties  were  acquired,  notably  the  Hillside 
Coal  and  Iron  Company  and  the  Towanda  Coal  Company.  The 
Erie  Railroad,  in  its  present  physical  construction,  is  the  result  of 
various  consolidations  and  leasehold  interests,  and  not  entirely 
without  the  operations  of  the  law.     As  reorganized  in  1895,  the 

300 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

system  covers  more  than  2,000  miles  of  track,  and  17,000  cars  are 
required  to  handle  the  coal  output.  In  1901  the  Erie  and  Wyo- 
ming Valley  Railroad  and  the  mining  interests  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Coal  Company  were  purchased  by  and  became  a  part  of  the 
Erie  properties. 

The  New  York,  Ontario  and  Western  Railroad,  successor  to 
the  old  "Midland,"  as  best  known  in  railroad  circles,  draws  its 
supply  of  anthracite  from  mines  in  the  vicinity  of  Carbondale  and 
Scranton.  It  has  a  trackage  of  500  miles  and  an  annual  coal  pro- 
duction of  more  than  1,500,000  tons.  The  Delaware,  Susque- 
hanna and  Schuylkill  Railroad,  the  main  line  of  which  is  between 
Drifton  and  Gowen,  sends  about  2,000,000  tons  annually  to  mar- 
ket. The  New  York,  Susquehanna  and  Western,  under  the  name 
of  "Termyn,"  carries  annually  about  1,500,000  tons. 

in  the  preceding  paragraphs  the  somewhat  indiscriminate  use 
of  the  expressions  "railroad  company"  and  "mining  company" 
is  apt  to  confuse  the  reader  who  does  not  understand  the  relations 
of   these   corporate   organizations.      Under   the  constitution   no 
incorporated  company  doing  business  as  a  common  carrier  shall, 
directly  or  indirectly,  prosecute  or  engage  in  mining  or  manu- 
facturing articles  for  transportation  over  its  road ;  nor  engage  m 
any  other  business  than  that  of  common  carriers,  or  hold  or  ac- 
quire land,  except  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  its  business. 
Under  this  constitutional  prohibition  the  railroad  companies  are 
compelled  to  comply  with  the  letter  of  the  law,  but  whether  the 
spirit  thereof  has  been  evaded  is  a  question  open  to  discussion. 
There  is  no  requirement  of  law  that  prohibits  the  members  of  one 
corporate  company  having  a  like  interest  in  another,  hence  offi- 
cers, directors  and  stockholders  in  a  railroad  company  may  also 
have  similar  interests  in  a  coal  mining  company.     This  condition 
frequently  obtains  in  this  State,  and  the  men  who  own  and  control 
railroads  also  own  coal  lands  and  carry  on  mining  operations, 
although  separate  corporate  companies  carry  on  each  branch^  of 
business.    These  interests  are  so  closely  allied  that  only  with  diffi- 

301 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

culty  can  they  be  separated,  and  it  is  customary  in  ordinary  speech 
to  refer  to  a  railroad  company  as  owner  of  mining  interests, 
whereas,  in  fact,  such  is  not  and  cannot  be  the  case.  The  mining 
companies,  presumabl3%  profit  from  the  operation  of  the  mines 
themselves,  and  the  railroad  companies,  in  like  manner,  derive 
revenues  from  the  transportation  of  coal  to  markets. 

The  question  of  transportation,  particularly  its  cost,  has  been 
the  subject  of  discussion  in  railroad  circles  for  many  years, 
and  so  long  as  competition  existed  among  the  operators  and  car- 
rying roads  a  satisfactory  adjustment  of  the  matter  was  not 
reached.  It  is  said  that  in  1895  unrestrained  competition  resulted 
in  a  loss  to  the  carrying  companies  of  more  than  $4,000,000.  Vari- 
ous agreements  have  been  entered  into  at  one  time  and  another  as 
a  remedy  for  existing  evils,  but  as  often  as  consummated  they 
have  been  broken  by  the  parties,  and  it  was  not  until  the  organiza- 
tion of  what  has  been  styled  the  syndicate,  in  1901,  that  all  inter- 
ests became  established  upon  a  mutual  and  equitable  basis. 

The  mere  mention  of  unionism  among  mining  employes  sug- 
gests an  all-powerful  element  of  life  in  the  coal  producing  regions 
of  the  State.  The  origin  and  gradual  increase  of  unions,  and  the 
causes  which  led  to  their  formation  cannot  be  made  a  subject  of 
discussion  in  this  chapter,  yet  in  a  brief  way  there  may  be  noted 
the  names  and  date  of  organization  of  such  of  these  bodies  as  have 
been  factors  in  the  history  of  the  anthracite  industry  during  the 
last  fifty  years. 

The  Bates  union  is  believed  to  have  been  the  pioneer  of  the 
mine  employes'  organizations  in  the  anthracite  region,  and  was  in 
existence  during  the  period  of  1848-50.  It  had  a  membership  of 
5,000  persons.  The  Workingmen's  Benevolent  Association  was 
chartered  in  1868  and  was  continued  until  1875,  when  it  dissolved. 
It  was  a  popular  organization  of  social  and  benevolent  character, 
and  acquired  a  total  membership  of  30.000.  or  about  85  per  cent, 
of  the  mining  employes  in  the  region.  The  Miners'  and  Laborers' 
Amalgamated    Association,    and   a   kindred   organization   styled 

302 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

Knig-hts  of  Labor,  rtourished  from  1884  to  about  1888.  They 
were  consolidated  in  1887,  and  attained  a  total  membership  of 
40,000.  The  present  United  Mine  Workers'  Association  began 
organizing-  in  1897,  and  has  since  become  the  effective  labor  body 


f 

i 

ii^k"   •'  Jk 

^K^9 

Daniel  Agncnv 

President  judge  seventeenth  judicial  district 
1851;  associate  justice  State  Supreme  Court 
1863-1873;  chiel  justice  1873-1879.  Made 
especially  for  this  work  from  an  engraving  in 
possession  of  the  Western  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania 

of  the  region,  its  membership  including  from  90  to  95  per  cent,  of 
the  miners  in  the  anthracite  fields. 

Under  the  present  laws  of  the  State  miners  of  coal  rank  as 
skilled  workmen,  and  must  possess  certain  qualifications  to  entitle 
them  to  serve  as  miners.  Before  being  "certificated"  each  applicant 
must  have  labored  in  some  capacity  in  the  mines  for  two  years, 
and  must  have  acquired  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  work  in 
detail  to  meet  the  requirements  of  any  emergency  that  may  arise 


303 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

in  connection  with  the  duty  assigned  to  him.  Thus  mining  has 
become  a  "trade,"  and,  from  the  pecuHar  dangers  which  attend  its 
prosecution,  it  is  safeguarded  by  law  as  a  measure  of  protection 
of  life  and  property  and  not,  as  is  sometimes  charged,  for  the  pro- 
tection of  a  certain  class  of  workmen. 

Naturally,  and  in  conformity  to  the  general  tendency  in  all 
trade  circles,  the  miners  and  mine  employes  have  perfected  an 
organization,  as  is  their  right,  for  mutual  improvement  and  pro- 
tection against  what  they  are  disposed  to  term  the  oppressions  of 
capitalist  employers.  But,  whatever  the  justice  or  injustice  of  this 
contention  on  the  part  of  mine  workers,  the  fact  remains  that  they 
have  perfected  a  strong  organization,  and  through  their  "unions" 
have  become  powerful  factors  in  the  history  of  coal  mining  in  this 
State.  Frequently  during  the  last  thirty  years  the  miners'  unions 
have  arrayed  themselves  against  their  employers,  and  "strikes" 
have  followed,  generally  with  no  substantial  success  to  the  miners' 
cause,  and  always  with  considerable  financial  loss  to  the  employers 
and  much  inconvenience  to  the  public.  Strikes  are  only  the  exer- 
cise of  rights,  sometimes  justifiable  and  as  frequently  ill-advised, 
but  the  methods  often  resorted  to  in  attempting  to  enforce  a  re- 
dress of  grievances  can  find  no  justification  in  the  public  mind. 

The  "great  strike"  of  1877  had  its  origin  in  difficulties  be- 
tween the  railroad  companies  and  their  employes,  and  soon  the 
miningr  interests  of  the  entire  Scranton  and  Lackawanna  districts 
became  involved  in  the  controversy.  Disorder,  riot  and  blood- 
shed followed,  no  good  results  were  accomplished,  and  only  a  dis- 
turbance in  business  circles  and  some  personal  losses  were  its  ulti- 
mate result. 

A  similar  disturbance  arose  in  1887  and  involved  the  mining 
interests  of  the  Lehigh  and  Schuylkill  districts.  It  was  continued 
about  three  months,  and  resulted  in  no  success  to  either  side,  but 
with  indirect  loss  to  both.  The  strike  of  1900  continued  six  weeks, 
and  was  a  general  struggle  between  organized  labor  on  one  side 
and  capital  (represented  by  mining  and  transportation  companies) 

304 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

on  the  other.  In  this  controversy  the  "union"  was  not  materially 
strengthened,  and  its  recognition  was  not  secured,  but  the  miners 
generally  were  granted  a  slight  advance  in  wages.  In  the  great 
contest  between  the  United  Mine  Workers'  organization  and  the 
combined  forces  of  the  coal  operators  which  began  in  May,  1902, 
there  was  the  most  determined  arrayal  of  opposing  elements 
known  to  the  history  of  strikes  in  the  coal  regions.  The  merits 
of  the  claims  of  the  contending  parties  are  not  subject  to  discus- 
sion in  this  article,  yet  so  persistently  was  the  contest  waged  that 
an  adjustment  of  difficulties  was  not  agreed  upon  until  the  middle 
of  October,  and  then  only  through  the  energetic  action  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

The  anthracite  mines  of  Pennsylvania  furnish  employment  to 
nearly  150,000  workmen'  while  in  operation  under  normal  condi- 
tions, and  in  the  carrying  trade  several  thousand  additional  men 
are  constantly  engaged.  Again,  because  fuel  is  cheaper  and 
more  readily  obtained  there,  the  anthracite  districts  have  become 
noted  for  the  number  and  employing  capacity  of  their  industrial 
enterprises;  and  it  is  estimated  that  the  number  of  persons  who 
directly  and  indirectly  gain  a  livelihood  from  these  fields  aggre- 
gate more  than  750,000  men — a  vast  army  of  wage-earners  com- 
prising representatives  of  dozens  of  nationalities. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  total  anthracite  production  in 
Pennsylvania  previous  to  1820  amounted  to  18,000  tons,  and  that 
of  the  aggregate  10,000  tons  came  from  the  Wyoming  region, 
3,000-  tons  from  the  Lehigh  region,  and  5,000  tons  from  the 
Schuylkill  region.  In  1820  the  number  of  tons  mined  was  less 
than  2,000,  and  it  was  not  until  1829  that  the  total  production 
reached  100,000  tons,  the  output  in  that  year  being  133,203  tons. 

^The  reports  of  the  bureau  of  mines  =The  regions  here  referred  to  were  corn- 
show  the  number  of  employees  in  and  prised  as  follows:  Wyoming  region,  the 
about  the  anthracite  mines  for  the  last  ten  counties  of  Luzerne  and  Sullivan;  Lehigh 
years  as  follows:  1892,  130,197;  1893,  region,  the  counties  of  Carbon,  Columbia 
138,021  ;  1894,  139,695  ;  1895,  143,60s  ;  1896,  and  part  of  Luzerne;  Schuylkill  region,  the 
147.670  ;  1897,  149.557  ;  1898,  142,420  ;  1899.  counties  of  Schuylkill,  Northumberland, 
140,583;    1900,   143,726;    1901,   147,651.  Dauphin,  Lebanon  and  part  of  Columbia. 

3-20  305 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

The  million-ton  mark  was  first  attained  in  1837,  and  the  ten-mil- 
lion-ton mark  in  1863.  In  1901  more  anthracite  coal  was  pro- 
duced than  in  any  previous  year,  the  total  for  that  year  alone 
exceeding  the  grand  total  for  all  the  years  down  to  1855.  As  evi- 
dence of  the  constant  increase  in  production  the  following  table 
has  been  prepared,  showing  the  number  of  tuns  of  coal  produced 
in  the  years  indicated  : 

Year.               Production.               Year.  Production. 

1820 1,96s 1865 10,783,032 

1825 38,499 1870 17,819,700 

1830 209,634 187s 20,643,509 

1835 678,517 1880 24,843,476 

1840 7,008,220 1885 33,520,941 

1845 2,344,426 1890 40,166,327 

1850 3,863,365 1895 50,846,104 

185s 7,684,542 1900 51,217,318 

i860 9,807,118 igoi 59,905,951 

BITUMINOUS  COAL 

The  source  of  supply  of  bituminous  coal,  as  far  as  relates  to 
Pennsylvania,  covers  a  very  large  part  of  the  State  west  of  the 
Alleghany  mountains,  where  millions  of  tons  are  mined  annually 
to  feed  the  furnaces  of  vast  industries  and  the  heaters  in  public 
and  private  buildings  over  a  wide  extent  of  territory.  The  high- 
est points  of  the  Alleghanies  are  capped  with  the  Conglomerate 
which  underlies  the  bituminous  coal  beds,  or  by  the  lower  mem- 
bers of  the  series,  and  the  strata,  dipping  gently  towards  the  west, 
the  formation  gains  in  thickness  in  that  direction,  and  overspreads 
the  whole  west  part  of  the  State,  excepting  the  northwest  corner, 
and  passes  on  into  Ohio.  East  of  the  Alleghanies  the  coal  de- 
posits are  the  anthracite,  except  an  area  of  semi-bituminous  on 
Broad  Top  mountain.  While  this  coal  exists  in  many  places 
below  the  Millstone  Grit,  in  varying  measures  of  minor  thickness, 
it  is  only  above  the  Grit  that  it  is  found  in  measures  of  from  300 
to  1,000  feet  in  thickness  and  of  wide  extent.     The  coal  beds 

306 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

alternate  with  strata  of  shale,  limestone,  sandstone,  etc.,  and  there 
is  a  close  relation  between  the  beds  and  the  intermediate  strata. 
Most  of  the  coal  beds  rest  on  grayish  or  whitish  soft  clay,  varying 
in  thickness  from  a  few  inches  to  thirty  feet ;  none  has  yet  been 
found  on  the  limestone  without  an  intermediate  bed  of  clay.  In 
most  cases,  as  a  coal  bed  at  its  base  becomes  mixed  with  clay,  so 
it  passes  at  its  upper  surface  into  black  bituminous  shale  or  slate, 
which  is  laminated  like  the  coal,  or  is  in  thin  layers  and  mixed 
with  the  remains  of  plants  which  entered  into  the  coal  compo- 
sition. Sometimes,  however,  the  roof  of  the  coal  formation  is 
sandstone,  and  rarely  limestone.  In  the  plant  remains  are  often 
found  fossil  shells  and  bones  and  teeth  of  fish. 

The  origin  of  this  coal  is  now  clearly  understood,  from  its 
geological  distribution  and  its  constituents.  The  old  hypothesis, 
now  long  since  abandoned,  was  that  it  was  a  mere  bituminous 
compound  deposited  like  strata  of  other  character.  But  free 
bitumen  does  not  exist  in  nature,  and  hence  deposits  of  it  in  the 
rocks  would  be  an  anomaly  if  we  could  not  positively  indicate  its 
origin.  It  is  proven  by  ocular  examination  that  it  is  composed 
of  woody  matter  or  vegetable  remains,  identical  with  the  materials 
that  go  to  the  formation  of  peat  in  different  parts  of  the  world. 
It  has  been  written  by  an  acknowledged  authority  that  "not  a 
single  case  has  been  recorded  in  regard  to  the  formation  of  coal 
which  cannot  find  its  counterpart  and  explanation  in  some  of  the 
phenomena  attending  the  present  formation  of  peat."  Bituminous 
coal  contains  81.2  of  carbon ;  anthracite  contains  95.0,  and  lignite, 
68.7,  and  it  is  believed  by  many  that  bituminous  coal  w'as  de- 
bituminized  by  heat  to  produce  the  anthracite. 

The  first,  or  lowest,  of  the  regular  workable  beds  of  bituminous 
coal  is  found  in  the  Conglomerate  of  the  anthracite  fields  and 
some  of  the  outlying  basins  of  the  Alleghany  field ;  this  is  com- 
paratively an  unimportant  bed  and  produces  only  the  block,  or 
furnace,  coal.  The  next  one  comprises  two  excellent  beds,  gener- 
ally almost  or  quite  united  as  a  single  one,  but  always  separated 

307 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

by  a  streak  of  fire  day,  or  slate,  which  sometimes  expands  to 
twenty  feet  in  thickness.  These  beds  when  joined  are  from  four 
to  seven  feet  thick.  Their  horizon  is  the  most  extensive  of  any 
of  the  beds  and  nearly  equal  to  the  entire  coal  field.  Above  this 
group  is  found  a  micaceous  sandstone,  which  can  be  identified  in 
all  of  the  great  American  coal  fields  of  the  Conglomerate  age;  it 
is  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet  in  thickness  and  is  followed  by  shales, 
fossiliferous  limestone  and  the  buhr-stone  iron  ore,  which  are 
generally  present  in  the  Alleghany  measures.  Next  in  the  anthra- 
cite, and  generally  in  the  bituminous,  fields  are  two  thin,  unwork- 
able beds,  one  of  which,  however,  supplies  a  valuable  cannel  coal. 
Above  these  occur  fifty  to  sixty  feet  of  shale  and  sandstone,  in 
which  is  a  single  coal  vein  from  thirty  inches  to  four  feet  thick 
and  usually  pure  and  workable.  Separated  from  this  by  the 
Freeport  limestone  (eight  feet  thick)  are  two  or  three  beds  from 
two  to  four  feet  thick,  which  are  sometimes  united  in  a  single 
bed.  This  constitutes  the  famous  mammoth  bed  of  the  anthracite 
region  and  the  Freeport  bituminous  beds  of  western  Pennsyl- 
vania. Next  is  found  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  of  soft  black 
shales  on  which  rests  the  Mahoning  sandstone,  the  largest  regular 
sand  rock  in  all  the  coal  measures,  ranging  from  fifty  to  seventy- 
five  feet  in  thickness.  Streaks  of  quartz  crystals  are  found  in 
this  rock.  Above  this  are  two  thin,  impure  beds  of  coal,  divided 
by  a  few  inches  of  fire  clay;  this  becomes  a  single  bed  in  the 
Alleghany  region.  Next  come  from  two  hundred  to  three  hun- 
dred feet  of  shales,  slates,  sandstone  and  limestone,  followed  by 
the  great  Pittsburg  bed,  which  has  been  and  is  so  productive  of 
gas,  coking,  steam-making  and  household  bituminous  coal  of 
every  variety  excepting  the  block  and  cannel.  This  bed  is  from 
six  to  twelve  feet  in  thickness.  Between  it  and  the  mammoth 
bed,  before  mentioned,  are  from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  of  the  lower  barren  measures ;  these  are  marked  in  the 
bituminous  as  well  as  in  the  anthracite  fields.  The  total  thickness 
of  the  Pennsylvania  coal  measures  is  about  3,000  feet. 

308 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

Immediately  to  the  west  of  the  anthracite  coal  fields  of  eastern 
Pennsylvania  is  a  semi-bituminous  district,  the  volatile  matter  in 
the  product  of  which  constantly  increases  as  we  near  the  central 
part  of  the  bituminous  field.  The  Carboniferous  formation  ter- 
minates in  the  north  part  of  the  State,  where  six  of  the  great 
flexures  of  the  strata  above  noticed  give  rise  to  six  coal  basins 
of  rich  and  productive  mines.  From  these  is  taken  the  well- 
known  Blossburg  coal,  which  is  so  extensively  consumed  in  pro- 
ducing steam. 

In  the  region  of  Pittsburg  the  four  or  five  lower  beds  which 
alone  occur  farther  north,  disappear  on  the  surface,  dipping  under 
a  shale  formation  in  which  there  are  no  coal  seams.  Above  the 
barren  measures  and  on  the  high  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  Pitts- 
burg is  another  excellent  bed  of  coal,  which  is  named  from  the 
city,  the  greater  part  of  the  product  of  which  is  consumed  in  the 
sottthwest  part  of  the  State. 

What  is  geologically  known  as  the  Great  Alleghany  Coal 
Field  covers  a  large  part  of  western  and  northwestern  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  southeastern  part  of  Ohio,  the  western  part  of  Mary- 
land, a  large  part  of  West  Virginia,  and  as  it  continues  on  to  the 
southwest,  gradually  narrows  as  it  crosses  the  States  of  Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee,  and  part  of  Alabama.  The  total  length  of  this 
great  coal  field  is  more  than  800  miles  and  its  maximum  width 
between  Cumberland,  Maryland  and  Newark,  Ohio,  is  180  miles. 
The  part  of  this  great  tract  with  which  we  are  here  interested 
covers  the  southwestern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  extending,  roughly 
speaking,  from  the  Broad  Top  mountain  northeastward  past  a 
central  east  and  west  line  across  the  State,  and  thence  west  to  the 
State  line.  The  northern  edge  of  this  coal  area  is,  however,  pro- 
longed well  towards  the  north  line  of  the  State  by  five  great  pro- 
jections from  the  main  body  and  by  numerous  small  areas  of  coal 
producing  territory.  These  projections  and  detached  coal  areas 
were  formerly  an  integral  part  of  the  Great  Alleghany  Coal  Field 
as  originally  formed,  and  constituted  a  vast  level  or  undulating 

309 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

plain,  which  dipped  gently  towards  the  west  and  southwest.  It 
was  ultimately  separated  from  the  main  field  by  the  action  of  the 
swift-flowing  surface  waters,  and  it  is  here  that  is  found  the  semi- 
bituminous  coal  that  exists  between  the  anthracite  region  of  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State  and  the  bituminous  region  of  the  west 
part. 

These  northernmost  semi-bituminous  deposits  have  been 
known  as  the  Ralston,  the  Barclay  (or  Towanda),  the  Blossburg, 
and  the  North  Mountain  coal  fields,  or  basins.  The  North 
Mountain  field  occupies  parts  of  Sullivan,  Wyoming  and  Luzerne 
counties,  and  is  vast  in  extent,  but  its  supply  of  coal  is  limited. 
A  vertical  section  through  its  deposits  shows  a  close  resemblance 
to  the  anthracite  measures  and  a  complete  identity  of  seams,  which 
form  the  connecting  link  between  the  two  formations.  The 
Barclay  coal  field  lies  about  twenty  miles  northwest  of  the  North 
Mountain  field,  in  the  second  basin  from  the  Alleghany  escarp- 
ment, the  North  Mountain  being  the  first.  It  is  "the  extreme 
northeastern  part  of  the  Alleghany  basin  and  a  continuation  of 
the  Ralston  basin,  which,  to  the  southwest,  forms  the  Farrands- 
ville  and  Snow  Shoe  basins,  and  continues  by  Ebensburg,  Johns- 
town, etc.,  as  the  first  basin  west  of  the  Alleghanies;  that  is,  the 
first,  or  North  Mountain,  formation  ceases  opposite  Williamsport, 
and  does  not  cross  the  Susquehanna  river."  ("Coal,  Iron  and 
Oil,"  p.  309.)  The  Barclay  field  covers  about  100  square  miles, 
but  not  more  than  one-tenth  of  it  has  produced  workable  coal. 
The  scattered  productive  formation  was  mostly  denuded  by  action 
of  water.  The  Barclay  coal  is  excellent  for  steam-making,  cokes 
with  great  difficulty,  and  contains  only  a  small  percentage  of 
bitumen. 

The  Ralston  basins  are  only  a  continuation  of  the  Barclay  and 
consist  of  small  patches  of  the  coal  measures  containing  only  the 
lower  beds. 

The  Mclntire  region  was  opened  in  1870,  the  mines  being 
situated  near  the  \'illage  of  Ralston,  in  Lycoming  county.     The 

310 


Asa  Packer 

Philanthropist ;  member  State  Legislature  1844  ; 
first  president  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  Company, 
i8ss  ;  congressman  1853-1857;  founder  of  Lehigh 
University  1865 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

coal  here  lies  nearly  i,ooo  feet  of  perpendicular  height  al)ove  the 
level  of  Lycoming  creek,  from  which  elevation  it  is  let  down  into 
the  valley  by  an  inclined  plane  nearly  half  a  mile  in  length.  The 
Towanda  deposit  is  an  extension  of  the  Mclntire  basin  and  situ- 
ated on  the  summit  of  Towanda  mountain.  The  one  seam  of 
coal  found  here  is  of  excellent  quality.  The  Snow  Shoe  basin  is 
in  Centre  county,  the  deposit  covering  only  about  eight  by  four 
miles  in  area.  The  Clearfield  basin  was  opened  in  1871  and  soon 
assumed  importance  as  a  source  of  coal  supply.  There  are  sev- 
eral seams  of  good  workable  coal,  the  product  being  somewhat 
softer  than  the  Blossburg  coal.  The  mines  are  principally  on  the 
Moshannon  creek,  along  which  they  extend  a  distance  of  more 
than  twelve  miles.  Here  among  the  hills  coal  was  taken  out  for 
home  consumption  from  the  time  of  early  settlement,  and  was 
shipped  along  the  Susquehanna  river  in  barges  during  seasons 
of  higli  water  for  use  by  blacksmiths.  The  strata  of  the  Clear- 
field basin  extend  to  the  headwaters  of  Moshannon  creek. 

The  Johnstown  region,  of  Cambria  county,  seventy-eight 
miles  east  of  Pittsburg,  has  five  seams  of  workable  character, 
from  which  the  annual  output  has  always  been  very  large  and 
almost  wholly  consumed  at  home  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  and 
steel.  The  aggregate  thickness  of  these  coal  measures  is  three 
hundred  and  twelve  feet,  and  they  contain  valuable  beds  of  iron 
ore  and  limestone,  supplying  all  the  elements  for  the  manufacture 
of  iron  and  the  home  consumption  of  coal. 

The  Blossburg  basin  is  situated  in  Tioga  county.  Pa.,  and  is 
the  northwest  extremity  of  the  third  Alleghany  basin.  The  coal 
from  it  is  richer  in  bitumen  and  is  a  free-burning,  dry  product, 
excellent  for  steam-making  purposes.  Like  all  the  other  de- 
tached basins  of  this  region,  it  consists  of  many  small  coal  de- 
posits which  are  separated  from  each  other  by  deep  erosions.  The 
area  of  this  part  of  the  third  basin  is  approximately  fifty  square 
miles.  Blossburg  coal  was  sold  during  the  twelve  years  from 
1853  to  1864,  inclusive,  to  the  amount  of  nearly  1,500,000  tons. 

313 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

The  Broad  Top  coal  region  is  situated  in  Huntingdon,  Bed- 
ford, and  Fulton  counties,  with  an  area  of  more  than  seventy-five 
square  miles,  the  field  widening  towards  its  southern  boundary 
in  Bedford  and  Fulton  counties.  The  region  is  detached  and 
independent  and  its  product,  coming  from  an  area  between  the 
anthracite  fields  on  the  northeast  and  the  great  bituminous  region 
on  the  southwest,  possesses  in  a  degree  the  qualities  of  both ;  it  is 
therefore  classed  as  a  semi-bituminous  coal.  The  average  thick- 
ness of  the  workable  seams  is  twenty-six  feet  and  of  the  coal 
rocks  nearly  i,ooo  feet.  The  immediate  coal  region  was  reached 
by  railroad  in  1856  and  during  the  latter  part  of  that  year  42,000 
tons  of  the  coal  was  sent  to  market.  This  quantity  was  nearly 
doubled  in  the  following  year,  and  from  that  time  the  annual 
product  rapidly  increased. 

The  Alleghany  coal  field,  as  far  as  it  relates  to  western  Penn- 
sylvania and  eastern  Ohio,  is  separated  from  the  Central  coal  field 
lying  farther  west  and  of  about  the  same  width  as  the  Alleghany 
field  (180  miles)  by  the  Devonian  and  Silurian  formations  of 
Ohio  and  Indiana.  Pittsburg  coal  does  not  exist  to  any  great 
extent  west  of  the  Ohio  river.  In  now  considering  the  purely 
bituminous  coals  of  western  Pennsylvania  we  may  quote  as  fol- 
lows from  Prof.  J.  P.  Lesley's  valuable  Manual  of  Coal: 

"The  Lower  Coals  form  in  western  Pennsylvania  a  system  by 
themselves.  Clinging,  as  it  were,  to  the  face  of  the  Conglomerate, 
the  lower  system  fared  better  than  the  upper  one,  and  has  been 
left  to  cover  an  immense  area.  In  fact,  it  forms  by  far  the  largest 
part — perhaps  four-fifths — of  all  the  coal  remaining  on  the  sur- 
face. In  Ohio — except  near  Wheeling — and  in  all  the  western 
States,  it  is  the  only  coal,  and  may  have  been  originally  the  only 

coal   deposited Wherever  the  dip   is  gentle,   this  lower 

system  prevails,  the  upper  being  swept  away ;  but  where  the  dip 
is  steep  and  in  the  middle  of  the  narrow  troughs,  it  receives  the 
up{)er  system  on  itself.  It  furnishes  the  beds  of  northern  and 
western   Pennsylvam'a  as   far  south  as  the  Conemaugh  or  Kis- 

314 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

kiminitas,  those  of  the  Allegheny  river,  and  all  the  country 
northwestward  of  the  Ohio.  It  occupies  the  west  and  south  of 
Virginia,  and  provides  the  coal  of  eastern  Kentucky  and  Tennes- 
see.    The  cannel  is,  perhaps,  exclusive  of  this  system At 

that  time  [referring  to  the  early  survey  of  Pennsylvania]  a  large 
bed  in  the  upper  bed  of  the  system  was  familiarly  called  'Elk  Lick 
coal,'  from  its  locality  near  the  romantic  falls  of  that  name  in 
Somerset.  This  bed,  which  is  the  upper  Freeport  bed  of  the 
Kiskiminitas  and  Allegheny  rivers,  seems  to  be  represented  by 
the  large  upper  coal  of  the  Kanawha  and  Coal  rivers  of  Virginia, 
and  by  the  great  bed  at  Karthause  and  Clearfield  to  the  north. 
It  marks  the  upper  limit  of  the  lower  coal  beds,  and  is  covered 
at  no  great  distance  by  the  remarkable  sandstone  strata  hereafter 
to  be  discussed   [the  Mahoning  sandstone]. 

"This  coal  bed  sometimes  rivals  the  Pittsburg  bed  in  size  and 
purity  of  minerals,  but  wants  its  regularity.  This  is  its  fault  in 
common  with  all  the  beds  of  the  lower  system :  they  cannot  hold 
their  own  for  any  great  distance  in  any  given  direction.  This 
is  particularly  true  of  the  large  bed  at  Buck  mountain,  which  lies 
nearly  upon  the  Conglomerate,  and  seems  co-extensive  with  the 
coal  field. 

"At  Towanda,  on  Broad  Top,  at  Johnstown,  on  the  Tennessee 
river,  even  at  St.  Louis,  its  sections  are  scarcely  to  be  told  apart. 
Everywhere  it  is  about  fifty  feet  above  the  Conglomerate;  every- 
where it  has  a  small  satellite  some  yards  below  it;  everywhere  it  is 
itself  a  variable  stratum  from  five  to  twenty  feet  in  thickness — a 
double  bed,  with  an  even  roof  and  an  uneven  floor,  rising  and 
falling  stormily  on  a  sea  of  fire  clay,  wdiich  sometimes  has  a  depth  • 
of  thirty  feet." 

The  bituminous  coal  field  of  Pennsylvania  covers  an  area  of 
more  than  12,000  square  miles — the  largest  in  the  world.  The 
principal  mining  centers  of  this  region  are  situated  along  the 
lines  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Erie  railroad,  the  Pennsylvania 
Central  railroad,  the  Panhandle  branch  of  the  Pittsburg,  Cincin- 

315 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

nati  and  St.  Louis  railroad,  the  Alleghany  railroad,  the  Erie  and 
Pittsburg  railroad,  in  the  Shenango  valley  block  coal  region,  and 
along  the  Youghiogheny,  Allegheny,  and  Monongahela  rivers. 
These  several  railroads  have  in  recent  years,  by  consolidation  and 
other  changes,  become  known  by  other  names. 

Of  this  series  the  Monongahela  region  is  by  far  the  most 
important.  It  extends  from  the  State  line  of  West  Virginia  to 
the  city  of  Pittsburg,  a  distance  of  ninety-five  miles.  Along  the 
slopes  of  the  Monongahela  valley  the  famous  Pittsburg  coal  crops 
out  on  either  side  of  the  river,  giving  access  to  the  coal  seam 
by  drift  mining.  The  coal  lies  in  the  earth  w^ith  great  regularity 
and  with  just  sufficient  dip  to  drain  the  mines  of  water.  The  coal 
is  the  best  in  the  United  States  for  the  generation  of  steam,  the 
manufacture  of  gas,  the  production  of  coke,  and  for  domestic 
use.  The  bed  is  from  four  to  fifteen  feet  in  thickness  and  usually 
rests  in  two  benches.  In  the  vicinity  of  Pittsburg,  where  the 
coal  is  from  nine  to  eleven  feet  thick,  the  two  seams  are  separated 
by  a  layer  of  fire  clay  of  from  eight  to  fifteen  inches  in  thickness. 
The  upper  coal  is  so  poor  in  quality  that  it  is  not  saved.  As 
about  fifteen  inches  of  the  bottom  coal  is  left  in  the  mine,  only 
about  four  and  one-half  feet  are  taken  out.  At  some  points  in 
Washington  and  Allegheny  counties,  and  elsewhere  in  the  region, 
the  whole  height  of  the  bed  is  worked,  the  product  being  all  of 
excellent  quality.  In  Westmoreland  county  most  of  the  mine 
openings  are  by  shafts,  while  in  Allegheny,  Washington,  and 
Fayette  counties  the  coal  is  all  obtained  by  drift  mining.  This 
famous  coal  bed  is  known  throughout  the  world  and  the  impor- 
tance of  its  product  in  developing  the  prosperity  of  the  city  of 
Pittsburg,  and  less  directly  of  the  whole  State  and  country,  can 
scarcely  be  estimated.  Every  year  during  more  than  half  a 
century  has  seen  the  rich  coal  dug  from  the  earth  and  transported 
down  the  Monongahela  river  and  over  the  railroads  in  millions 
of  tons,  bringing  to  the  region  an  enormous  flow  of  wealth  that 
never  ceases.  , 

316 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

The  coal  mined  on  the  Youghiogheny  river  in  the  vicinity  of 
Connellsville  is  celebrated  for  its  coking  properties,  which  has 
given  it  an  immense  consumption  not  alone  in  Pittsburg,  but  in 
many  of  the  western  and  northern  States.  A  hundred  bushels 
of  this  coal  produces  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  bushels  of 
coke,  forty  bushels  of  which  will  smelt  a  ton  of  iron  from  a  rich 
ore.  The  coal  bed  is  nearly  eleven  feet  in  thickness,  but  only 
seven  or  eight  are  mined. 

The  Shenango  valley  coal  region  occupies  the  extreme  outcrop 
of  the  coal  measures  of  western  Pennsylvania,  the  mines  being 
mainly  situated  in  Mercer  county.  The  block  coal  of  the  region 
just  east  of  Sharon  is  usually  found  in  one  seam,  the  lowest  of 
the  series,  and  is  the  equivalent  of  the  block  coal  of  the  Mahoning 
valley  and  of  the  Massillon  coal  of  Ohio.  It  is  an  excellent  fur- 
nace coal  and  is  consumed  in  its  raw  state.  At  Greenfield,  seven 
miles  southeast  of  Sharon,  an  upper  coal  was  discovered  some 
thirty  years  ago  which  had  an  average  workable  thickness  of  four 
feet;  but  the  quality  was  poor,  when  compared  with  the  block 
coal.  Like  the  low^er  coal,  it  lies  in  patches  of  unequal  levels,  and 
the  troughs  in  which  it  is  found  are  generally  wider  than  those 
which  enclose  the  block  coal.  Professor  Rogers  located  the 
lower  coal  of  this  valley  below  the  Conglomerate,  and  sometimes 
patches  of  the  Conglomerate  rock  form  the  roof  of  the  coal  bed, 
but  the  true  place  of  this  seam  is  in  the  coal  measures,  of  which 
it  forms  the  base.  It  rests  upon  the  upper  surface  of  the  Waverly 
sandstone,  and  sometimes  upon  a  coarse  grained  sandstone. 
("The  Coal  Mines,"  Roy,  p.  266.) 

Bituminous  coal  was  mined  near  Richmond,  Va.,  about  1750, 
and  was  extensively  used  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  It  was 
transported  to  Philadelphia  in  1779.  In  1789  its  price  in  that 
city  was  is.  6d.  per  bushel.  In  later  years  and  during  the  war 
of  18 12  this  coal  became  scarce  in  Philadelphia,  but  it  was  the 
principal  source  of  supply  for  many  years  for  that  section  of  the 
State  and  down  to  1850  supplied  the  Philadelphia  gas  works  and 

317 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

those  of  other  cities.  During  twenty  years  after  about  1830  the 
importation  of  bituminous  coal  from  Great  Britain  to  Philadel- 
phia steadily  increased,  as  the  Virginia  supply  diminished.  About 
1856  the  coal  of  western  Pennsylvania  came  into  use  in  the  city. 
The  first  coal  mined  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  as  far  as  is 
shown  by  records,  was  in  1760,  when  Captain  Thomas  Hutchins 
visited  Fort  Pitt  in  July  and  found  a  mine  open  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  Monongahela  river,  from  which  coal  was  taken  to 
supply  the  garrison  of  the  fort.  The  fort  \vas  then  under  com- 
mand of  Major  Edw^ard  Ward,  who  obtained  coal  from  near  the 
summit  of  wdiat  has  been  known  as  Coal  Hill,  sending  it  down 
to  the  flat  in  a  shute.  This  pit  was  long  known  as  Ward's  pit. 
Colonel  James  Burd  already  in  the  previous  year  had  mentioned 
the  discovery  of  coal  along  Redstone  creek  and  Coal  Run  near 
Brownsville.  In  1766  Rev.  Charles  Beatty  mentions  the  deposit 
in  Coal  Hill,  where  it  "had  been  burning  almost  a  twelvemonth 
entirely  under  ground."  The  non-importation  agreement  made 
by  Philadelphia  merchants,  in  1765,  mentions  coal  as  one  of  the 
commodities  that  could  be  brought  from  Great  Britain  as  ballast. 
In  a  paper  read  by  William  J.  Burke  before  the  Pennsylvania 
Historical  Society  in  January,  1875,  he  quoted  Penn  manuscripts 
showing  that  the  Penns  were  well  aware  of  the  existence  of 
coal  at  Pittsburg  and  its  value  for  fuel,  as  early  as  1769.  Thomas 
Penn,  in  that  year,  sent  a  letter  from  London  to  his  son,  John, 
directing  him  to  have  a  survey  made  of  5,000  acres  of  land 
around  Pittsburg,  including  the  site  of  the  town.  In  May  of  the 
same  year  he  wrote  regarding  this  survey,  saying:  'T  would  not 
engross  all  the  coal  hills,  but  rather  leave  the  greater  part  to 
others  who  may  work  them."  The  oncoming  war  troubles  pre- 
vented the  execution  of  these  plans  at  that  time.  In  1784,  the 
Penns  still  retaining  their  proprietary  interests,  which  included 
the  manor  of  Pittsburg,  surveyed  the  town  into  lots  and  in  the 
same  year  the  privilege  of  mining  coal  in  the  "great  seam"  was 
sold  at  the  rate  of  £30  for  each  mining  lot,  extending  back  to  the 

318 


l/l^T^t'^'-^i^^^i 


Editor;  banker;  contractor;  United  States  Sen- 
ator, 1845-1849;  secretary  of  war  in  President 
Lincoln's  cabinet,  1861-1862;  minister  to  Russia, 
1862;  United  States  senator,  1857-1861,  and  1867- 
1877;  born  1799;  died  1889 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

center  of  the  hill.      ("Iron  Making  and  Coal  Mining,"  Swank, 

pp.    III-I2.) 

From  this  time  forward  the  demand  for  the  rich  coal  increased 
rapidly  for  both  domestic  and  manufacturing  purposes.  Various 
minor  industries  came  into  existence  which  drew  upon  the  supply 
to  a  considerable  extent.  The  first  steam  engine  was  put  in 
operation  in  Pittsburg  in  1794,  and  salt  was  produced  there  by 
evaporation  at  a  very  early  day.  Coal  pits  were  opened  on  the 
Pittsburg  side  of  the  river  at  Minersville  and  elsewhere  in  1797, 
and  a  glass  works  was  established  on  the  south  side  of  the  river 
at  a  point  where  coal  could  be  had  near  at  hand.  The  first  twenty 
years  of  the  consumption  of  coal  at  this  point  saw  a  marvellous 
increase.  Numerous  steam  engines  were  installed  for  a  variety 
of  manufactures,  the  population  multiplied  and  all  drew  heavily 
upon  the  fuel  that  was  to  constitute  so  great  a  factor  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  place.     A  newspaper  of  1814  said:  "This  place 

is  celebrated  for  its  coal  banks It  is  in  general  use  in  all 

private  houses  and  the  extensive  manufactories  established  through 
the  town.  Coal  is  found  in  all  the  hills  around  this  place  for  ten 
miles  at  least  and  in  such  abundance  that  it  may  almost  be  con- 
sidered the  substratum  of  the  whole  country Little  short 

of  1,000,000  bushels  are  consumed  annually.  The  price,  for- 
merly 6  cents,  has  risen  to  I2.  There  are  forty  or  fifty  pits 
opened"  [on  Coal  Hill]. 

The  first  coal  was  shipped  from  Pittsburg  in  1803.  when  the 
Louisiana  was  "ballasted  with  the  fuel,  which  was  sold  in  Phila- 
delphia for  37;^  cents  a  bushel."  In  1820  coal  mining  was  begun 
at  Coal  Centre  (Greenfield),  and  ten  years  later  at  Limetown, 
both  on  the  upper  Monongahela,  in  Washington  county.  Most 
of  the  product  of  those  early  years  was  put  on  board  of  Ixiats 
sixty-eight  to  eighty  feet  in  length,  sixteen  feet  wide,  and  five 
feet  deep,  holding  from  4,000  to  6,000  bushels.  On  these  it  was 
flocxted  to  Pittsburg  and  the  Ohio  river  towns.  A  directory  of 
Pittsburg  for  the  year  1837  has  a  list  of  ten  collieries  on  Coal 

3-21  321 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

Hill,  which  produced  over  5,000,000  bushels  at  that  one  point. 
It  was  then  estimated  that  the  total  product  was  12,000,000 
bushels,  the  selling  price  of  which  was  about  5  cents  per  bushel. 

The  coal  industry  of  this  immediate  region  received  a  power- 
ful impetus  from  the  operations  of  the  Monongahela  Navigation 
Company,  which  created  a  slack-water  navigation  by  means  of 
dams  from  Pittsburg  to  the  West  Virginia  line.  The  first  survey 
for  this  improvement  was  made  in  1838,  and  between  1841  and 
1844  the  system  was  completed  to  Brownsville,  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  Washington  county.  Similar  works  were  com- 
pleted on  the  Youghiogheny  river  in  1850,  which  have  since  been 
abandoned.  The  Pennsylvania  railroad  did  not  reach  Pittsburg 
until  1852,  giving  the  navigation  company  eight  years  of  great 
prosperity.  Between  1845  '^i'"^  i847  the  revenues  were  nearly 
doubled.  The  toll  on  coal  over  the  entire  navigation  system  was 
$2.91  per  1,000  bushels.  There  was  also  a  large  revenue  from 
passenger  traffic,  the  number  carried  in  1850  being  more  than 
18,000.  But  with  all  this  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  confident 
expectations  of  the  company  were  wholly  realized.  The  expense 
of  operation,  and  particularly  the  cost  of  repairing  damages  by 
floods,  ice,  etc.,  was  great.  The  shipments  through  the  locks  of 
the  system  in  1844  were  737,150  bushels;  in  1850  they  were 
12,297,967  bushels,  and  in  i860  they  were  37,947,732  bushels; 
in  1870  they  had  risen  to  57,596,400  bushels,  and  in  1880  to 
84,048,350  bushels,  with  still  further  increase  in  later  years.  The 
construction  of  the  railroads  into  this  region  added  greatly  to  the 
transportation  facilities  and  widened  the  field  of  consumption. 

The  Pittsburg  coal  region  includes  parts  of  five  counties — 
Allegheny,  Washington,  Greene,  Westmoreland,  and  Fayette. 
Definite  geographical  limits  cannot  be  fixed,  and  it  is  also  difficult 
to  give  it  geological  limits,  for  the  location  of  the  different  coal 
basins  along  northeast  and  southwest  belts  of  the  country  at  angles 
to  the  geographical  points  of  the  compass,  and  the  great  trans- 
porting mediums  of  the  district  make  them  only  in  part  tributary 

322 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

to  Pittsburg  itself,  a  large  part  of  their  product  going  to  other 
markets. 

The  year  1843  saw  what  was  probably  the  first  use  of  bitu- 
minous coal  in  Pennsylvania  for  the  reduction  of  iron  ore  in  blast 
furnaces.  In  that  year  it  is  recorded  that  coal  in  the  vicinity  of 
Sharon,  without  coking,  "has  been  successfully  tried  for  smelting 
iron  in  a  common  charcoal  furnace."  This  was  doubtless  only 
an  experiment,  but  its  significance  was  most  important.  "In 
July,  1845,  Himrod  &  Vincent,  of  Mercer  county.  Pa.,  blew  in 
the  Clay  furnace,  not  many  miles  from  the  Ohio  line,  on  the 
waters  of  the  Shenango.  About  three  months  afterwards,  in 
consequence  of  a  short  supply  of  charcoal,  ....  a  portion  of 
coke  was  used  to  charge  the  furnace.  Their  coal  belongs  to  seam 
No.  I,  the  seam  which  is  now  used  (1875)  at  Sharon  and  Youngs- 
town,  in  its  raw  state,  variously  known  as  'free-burning  splint'  or 
'block  coal,'  and  which  never  makes  solid  coke.  A  difficulty  soon 
occurred  with  the  cokers,  and,  as  Mr.  Himrod  states,  he  conceived 
the  plan  of  trying  his  coal  without  coking.  The  furnace  con- 
tinued to  work  well,  and  to  produce  a  fair  quality  of  metal."  At 
the  same  time,  Messrs.  Wilkinson,  Wilkes  &  Co.  were  building 
a  furnace  on  the  Mahoning,  at  Lowell,  Mahoning  county,  Ohio, 
intending  to  use  mineral  coal  from  seam  No.  i,  on  which  they 
owned  a  mine  near  Lowell.  The  credit  of  making  the  first  iron 
with  raw  bituminous  or  semi-bituminous  coal,  in  the  United 
States,  belongs  to  one  of  these  firms.  An  account  of  the  blowing 
in  of  the  Lowell  furnace,  on  the  8th  of  August,  1846,  was  printed 
in  the  Trumbull  Democrat,  of  Warren,  dated  August  15.  1846, 
where  it  is  stated  that  to  "these  gentlemen  [Wilkinson,  Wilkes 
&  Co.]  belongs  the  honor  of  being  the  first  persons  in  the  United 
States  who  have  succeeded  in  putting  a  furnace  in  blast  with  raw 

bituminous  coal It  is  admitted  that  Mr.  David  Himrod, 

late  of  Youngstown,  produced  the  first  metal  with  raw  coal,  about 
the  close  of  the  year  1845,  ^"^  ^^^^  continued  to  use  it  ever  since. 
The  friends  of  Wilkinson  &  Co.  claim  that  it  was  an  accident, 

323 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

and  a  necessity,  while  their  works  were  built  and  intended  for  raw 
coal."      ("Youngstown  Past  and  Present,"  printed  1875.) 

It  required  much  agitation,  extending  over  a  number  of  years, 
as  well  as  the  influence  of  many  mine  disasters,  before  legislation 
was  enacted  providing  for  State  supervision  of  the  coal  mines. 
A  bill  was  introduced  in  the  legislature  in  1858  which  provided 
for  such  supervision  over  the  mines  in  Schuylkill  county,  but  it 
was  not  favored  and  was  soon  withdrawn.  Again  it  was  intro- 
duced in  1866,  when  it  passed  the  lower  House,  but  failed  in  the 
Senate.  It  was  finally  passed  in  1869,  but  the  law-makers  were 
so  short-sighted  as  to  make  the  provisions  of  the  bill  apply  to  only 
the  anthracite  mines.  A  few  years  later  the  Governor  appointed 
a  commission  of  three  practical  miners,  in  accordance  with  a 
resolution  of  the  legislature,  and  this  commission  made  an  ex- 
haustive examination  of  the  bituminous  mines  and  reported  to  the 
Governor,  recommending  the  extension  of  the  provisions  of  the 
mining  law  to  all  of  the  coal  mines  of  the  State.  This  purpose 
was  effected,  and  the  bituminous  field  was  divided  into  three  dis- 
tricts, with  mine  inspectors  for  each. 

The  Bureau  of  Internal  Affairs  of  the  State  was  organized  on 
the  first  Tuesday  of  May,  1874,  and  for  more  than  a  quarter  of 
a  century  since  has  been  of  immense  benefit  through  its  elaborate 
reports  upon  natural  products,  manufactures,  etc.  The  report  of 
the  bureau  for  1874-5  gives  the  total  product  of  bituminous  coal 
as  1,289,594  tons.  Five  years  later,  in  1880,  the  quantity  had 
increased  to  8,327,561  tons.  As  the  quantity  mined  increased 
and  the  mining  area  extended  it  became  necessary  to  increase  the 
number  of  districts.  In  1890  there  were  eight  districts,  their 
boundaries  including  territory  in  the  following  counties :  First 
district — Allegheny,  Fayette,  Greene.  Washington  and  Westmore- 
land counties.  Second  district — Allegheny  and  Westmoreland. 
Third  district — Armstrong,  Butler,  Clarion,  Indiana,  Jefferson, 
Lawrence,  Mercer  and  Westmoreland  counties.  Fourth  district 
— McKean,  Potter,  Tioga,  Bradford,  Sullivan,  Lycoming,  Clin- 

324 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

ton,  Cameron,  Elk,  and  parts  of  Jefferson,  Clearfield  and  Centre 
counties.  Fifth  district — Fayette  and  Somerset  counties.  Sixth 
district — Blair,  Cambria,  Clearfield,  Jefferson  and  Westmoreland. 
Seventh  district — Allegheny,  Washington  and  Westmoreland. 
Eighth  district — Bradford,  Centre,  Clearfield  and  Huntingdon 
counties.  By  the  year  1900  two  districts  had  been  added  to  this 
number,  making  ten,  and  at  the  present  time  a  still  further  addi- 
tion has  increased  the  number  to  twelve. 

In  1890  the  production  of  bituminous  coal  in  the  State  had 
increased  to  40,740,521  tons,  and  this  immense  quantity  was 
nearly  doubled  in  the  next  ten  years,  the  amount  mined  in  1901 
being  80,914,226  tons.  There  was  only  one  year  in  this  last 
decade  when  the  quantity  decreased;  this  was  1893,  when 
43,422,498  tons  were  produced,  against  46,225,552  tons  the  pre- 
vious year.  During  the  decade  under  consideration  the  annual 
production  of  coke  has  been  as  follows:  1892,  7,854,620  tons; 
1893,  5,459.297;  1894,  5,724,244;  1895,  8,922,380;  1896, 
6,613,253;  1897,8,523,291;  1898,  10,171,920;  1899,  12,192,570; 
1900,  12,185,112;  1901,  12,125,156.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that 
of  the  24,000,000  tons  of  bituminous  coal  produced  in  this  State 
in  1884,  Allegheny,  Washington,  Fayette,  and  Westmoreland 
counties  supplied  13,000,000  tons,  or  54  per  cent,  of  the  product 
of  the  whole  State,  About  one-third  of  this  latter  named  quan- 
tity was  made  into  coke. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  bituminous  mining  industry  there 
was  far  greater  fluctuation  in  prices  from  time  to  time  than  in 
later  years,  and  those  prices  were  directly  affected  by  prevailing 
rates  of  tariff.  In  1834  the  average  price  of  the  coal  was  $4.84. 
The  duty  was  reduced  to  20  per  cent,  in  1839-40  and  the  price  of 
coal  at  once  rose  as  the  duty  decreased.  In  1842  the  highest 
duty  ever  imposed  on  foreign  coal  was  levied — $1.75  per  ton — 
and  the  price  at  once  went  down  in  1843  ^^  '^?>-'^7-  Di-iring  the 
succeeding  ten  years,  under  more  regular  and  reasonable  duties, 
prices  were  more  nearly  stationary  and  there  was  greater  pros- 

325 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

perity  in  the  mining  industry.  But  in  1854  foreign  coal  was 
admitted  free  and  prices  at  once  rose,  and  were  only  reduced  by 
the  financial  stress  of  1857.  In  1866  the  duty  was  made  $1.25, 
and  prices  fell  again.  These  relations  between  the  price  of  coal 
here  and  the  rate  of  tariff  need  not  be  followed  further. 

The  subject  of  the  amount  of  available  bituminous  coal  and 
the  probable  duration  of  the  supply  under  the  normal  yearly 
increase  of  mining  is  an  important  one  and  has  caused  much  dis- 
cussion. A  paper  on  the  subject,  "Available  Coal,"  was  prepared 
and  read  in  1880  by  Dr.  H.  M.  Chance,  in  which  he  gave  some 
interesting  figures  and  observations.  The  commonly  estimated 
area  of  the  coal  field  (between  12,000  and  13,000  square  miles) 
greatly  exceeded  his  estimate;  also,  the  estimates  by  others  of 
the  tonnage  of  available  coal  as  from  180,000,000,000  tons  to 
300,000,000,000  tons,  are  vastly  higher  than  those  arrived  at 
by  him.  He  ignored  seams  of  less  than  two  feet  in  thickness, 
and  his  estimate  of  available  coal,  excluding  the  Broad  Top  field, 
was  33,547,200,000  tons,  which  he  divided  thus:  Beds  over  six 
feet  thick,  10,957,200,000  tons ;  three  to  six  feet  thick,  19,586,800,- 
000  tons ;  two  to  three  feet  thick,  3,003,200,000  tons.  From  the 
year  1864  to  1880  he  placed  the  yearly  average  increase  of  pro- 
duction at  six  per  cent.  He  concluded  that  the  output  would 
not  ever  reach  more  than  50,000,000  tons,  at  which  ratp'  it  would> 
require  500  years  to  exhaust  the  supply. 

According  to  this  authority,  statistics  showing  company  ton- 
nage develop  the  fact  that  each  company  has  an  average  of  four 
or  five  accessible  seams  of  commercial  importance:  Two  com- 
panies have  nine  seams;  two  have  eight  seams;  four  have  seven 
seams ;  two  have  six  seams ;  two  have  five  seams ;  seven  have  two 
seams,  and  three  have  one  seam.  In  the  importance  of  these 
seams  as  a  source  of  supply,  Fayette  county  stands  at  the  head, 
followed  by  Washington,  Greene,  Allegheny,  Westmoreland,  In- 
diana, Jefferson,  Armstrong,  Somerset,  Cambria,  Butler,  Clear- 
field, etc.     This  order  has  no  reference  to  their  present  impor- 

326 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

tance.  The  amount  of  coal  excluded  from  the  above  estimates 
through  poor  quality,  depth  under  water  level  or  rocks,  is  ad- 
mitted by  the  writer  to  be  very  great. 

Since  the  zenith  of  bituminous  coal  production  in  the  State 
was  reached  in  1883  in  the  Pittsburg  region,  the  quantity  pro- 
duced has  been  reduced  some  20,000,000  tons  annually,  through 
the  extensive  consumption  of  natural  gas  in  Pittsburg  and  its  near 
vicinity.  In  1886  this  gas  was  in  use  there  by  3,000  families, 
34  iron  and  steel  mills,  60  glass  factories,  and  300  smaller  manu- 
factories, hotels,  etc.,  all  of  which  were  supplied  by  one  company 
which  was  organized  in  Philadelphia.  The  number  of  consumers 
was  greatly  increased  in  succeeding  years  through  the  supply 
from  other  companies  of  less  importance. 

PETROLEUM 

The  production  and  various  phases  of  manufacture  of  petro- 
leum (as  it  is  now  generally  called)  occupy  a  position  among  the 
foremost  of  the  great  industries  of  Pennsylvania,  and  their  history 
is  replete  with  facts  of  startling  interest  and  significance.  No 
romance  ever  written  surpasses  it  in  its  marvellous  details. 

The  discovery  made  far  back  in  past  years  that  this  fluid  flowed 
naturally  from  the  earth  in  western  Pennsylvania,  and  the  fact 
that  the  substance  was  known  in  some  parts  of  the  world  centuries 
earlier,  while  most  important  in  themselves,  do  not  possess  a  tithe 
of  the  interest  that  surrounds  the  early  development  of  its  pro- 
duction in  this  State  and  the  discovery  of  its  valuable  constituents, 
made  in  comparatively  recent  times. 

Oil  that  was  doubtless  petroleum  was  mentioned  by  Marco 
Polo  in  the  year  1260  during  his  travels  of  that  and  succeeding 
years.  He  wrote  that  on  the  north  of  Armenia  the  Greater  "a 
fountain  is  found  from  which  a  liquor  like  oil  flows."  At  an- 
other place  was  found  a  fountain  "whence  rises  oil  in  such  abun- 
dance that  a  hundred  ships  might  be  at  once  loaded  with  it.     It  is 

327 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

not  good  for  eating,  but  very  fit  for  fuel,  for  anointing  the  camels 
in  maladies  for  the  skin,  and  for  other  purposes."  Previous  to 
the  actual  beginning  of  the  oil  industry  in  this  country  the  sub- 
stance had  been  known  for  two  hundred  years  to  both  Indians  and 
settlers,  by  whom  it  had  been  gathered  from  the  surface  of  springs 
and  small  streams  by  absorbing  it  in  blankets  and  otherwise,  to  be 
used  as  a  remedial  liniment.  Coming  down  to  more  recent  times, 
after  the  oil  had  to  a  small  extent  been  introduced  in  its  crude 
condition  into  the  eastern  States  as  a  remedy  for  disease.  Pro- 
fessor Silliman,  in  1833,  recorded  the  following:  "I  cannot  learn 
that  any  considerable  part  of  the  large  quantity  of  petroleum  used 
in  the  eastern  States  under  the  name  of  Seneca  oil  comes  from  the 
spring  now  described  [near  the  county  line  of  Cattaraugus  and 
Allegany  counties,  N.  Y.].  I  am  assured  that  its  source  is  about 
100  miles  from  Pittsburg  on  the  Oil  Creek,  which  empties  into 
the  Allegheny  river,  in  the  township  and  county  of  Venango.  It 
exists  there  in  great  abundance,  and  rises  in  purity  to  the  surface 
of  the  water." 

With  reference  to  the  oil  deposits  in  western  Pennsylvania, 
from  the  geologist's  point  of  view,  it  may  be  said  that  the  carbon 
in  the  depths  of  those  regions,  which  is  the  base  of  the  oil,  shows 
that  those  deposits  were  either  animal  or  vegetable,  it  being  the 
base  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  world.  The  drill  does  not  reach 
these,  as  they  lie  under  the  edge  of  the  great  secondary  formation 
at  a  depth  of  30,000  or  40,000  feet.  The  heat  at  those  depths  is 
very  great.  It  would  seem  that  the  deposits  of  animal  or  vege- 
table matter  are  thrown  off  into  the  upper  rocks  as  gas,  and  there 
condensed  by  the  lower  temperature  into  the  liquid  oil.  Into 
what  rock  the  gas  will  enter  depends  on  the  character  of  the  rock. 
A  close  slate  or  sandstone  will  resist  it,  but  wherever  there  is  a 
crevice  or  a  porous  rock,  it  will  force  its  way  in  and  condense. 
Hence,  the  rock  is  a  guide  to  the  driller,  and  the  location  of  the  oil 
producing  areas  resolves  itself  into  the  existence  of  this  porous 
sand  rock.     These  areas  are  only  small  spots  in  the  great  belt  of 

328 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

the  formation  and  are  indiscriminately  scattered.  Great  geolo- 
gists have  differed  somewhat  upon  the  character  of  petroleum. 
Dana  wrote :  "A  bituminous  liquid  resulting  from  the  decomposi- 
tion of  marine  or  land  plants,  and  perhaps  also  of  some  non- 
nitrogenous  animal  tissues."  Denton  thus  describes  it :  "It  is  a 
coral  oil,  not  formed  from  the  bodies  of  the  coral  poplyps,  as  some 
have  supposed,  but  secreted  by  them  from  the  impure  waters, 
principally,  though  not  exclusively,  of  the  Devonian  times." 
Winchell  says:  "Crude  petroleum  is  not  a  product  of  definite 
composition.  It  seems  to  be  a  varying  mixture  of  several  hydro- 
carbons ....  and  contains  var\ing  (|uantities  of  aluminous 
matter  and  other  impurities." 

The  mere  presence  of  petroleum  in  a  geological  formation  is 
not  always  evidence  of  the  existence  there  of  a  large  quantity ;  it 
occurs  in  all  stratified  rocks  of  all  ages  from  the  Laurentian  to  the 
recent.  Almost  all  geological  authorities  credit  it  to  organic  re- 
mains, differing  somewhat  as  to  whether  animal  or  vegetable  re- 
mains were  the  source  of  the  greater  part.  They,  however,  gen- 
erally agree  that  most  of  it  found  in  the  pores  of  fossiliferous 
limestone  was  produced  by  animal  bodies,  while  that  found  in 
shales  had  a  vegetable  origin,  the  oil  of  commerce  coming  chiefly 
from  the  latter.      (See  "History  of  Petroleum,"  by  J.  T.  Henry.) 

The  commercial  production  of  petroleum  in  this  countr}^  was 
preceded  by  the  distillation  on  an  extensive  scale  of  oil  directly 
from  coal.  The  first  of  this  product  made  and  placed  on  sale  was 
by  the  United  States  Chemical  Manufacturing  Company,  Phil- 
brick  «&  Atwood,  at  Waltham,  Mass.,  early  in  1852.  They  called 
it  "Coup"  oil,  the  name  having  reference  to  the  historical  coup  of 
Napoleon  III.,  some  time  previous  to  that  year.  Their  product 
was  a  lubricator  and  gained  favor  among  users  of  machinery.  In 
1856  coal  oil  was  made  in  South  Boston  for  Samuel  Downer,  by 
Joshua  Merrill,  a  practical  oil  manufacturer.  The  first  illuminat- 
ing oil  of  this  character  was  made  in  1856,  from  Trinidad  asphalt. 
In  the  following  year  the  so-called  Albert  coal  of  New  Brunswick 

329 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

was  quite  extensively  used  in  South  Boston  in  making  both  kibri- 
cating  and  ilhiminating  hydro-carbon  oils,  and  a  large  business 
was  subsequently  built  up. 

Meanwhile,  a  bottle  of  the  so-called  "Seneca  oil"  of  western 
Pennsylvania  was  taken  to  the  professor  of  chemistry  in  Dart- 
mouth college  in  1854,  where  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  George  H. 
Bissell,  a  graduate  of  that  institution,  who  had  been  in  the  South 
a  number  of  years  and  had  come  north  to  recruit  his  health.  S. 
M.  Kier  had  "struck  oil"  while  drilling  for  salt  water  at  Tarentum, 
Pa.,  in  1847,  'i"'^^  pumped  it  up  with  the  brine.  He  placed  it  on 
sale  in  the  east  in  bottles  as  a  remedy  "celebrated  for  its  wonderful 
curative  powers.  A  Natural  Remedy ;  Produced  from  a  well  in 
Allegheny  county,  Pa.,  four  hundred  feet  below  the  earth's  sur- 
face," etc.  On  the  label  of  the  bottle  was  a  picture  of  an  artesian 
well.  The  Dartmouth  professor  expressed  his  belief  to  Mr.  Bis- 
sell that  the  oil  in  the  bottle  which  came  to  the  college  was  as  good 
or  better  than  the  coal  oils  for  illuminating  purposes,  if  properly 
prepared.  Bissell  believed  it,  and  the  picture  on  the  label  seen  by 
him  a  little  later  in  the  window  of  a  drug  store  gave  birth  in  his 
mind  to  the  conviction  that  the  right  way  to  get  the  oil  in  great 
quantities  Vv'as  to  bore  down  into  the  earth  for  it.  He  organized 
the  Pennsylvania  Rock  Oil  Company,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the 
United  States,  and  leased  the  land  on  which  were  situated  the 
principal  oil  springs.  He  sent  a  quantity  of  the  oil  to  Professor 
Silliman,  who  analyzed  it  and  made  his  report.  The  statement 
made  by  him  that  from  the  oil  could  be  made  as  good  an  illumin- 
ant  as  any  known  to  the  world,  attracted  much  attention.  Said 
he  in  his  report :  "Your  company  have  in  their  possession  a  raw 
material  from  which  by  simple  and  not  expensive  process  they 
may  manufacture  very  valuable  products.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that  my  experiments  prove  that  nearly  the  whole  of  the  raw  prod- 
uct may  be  manufactured  without  waste,  and  this  solely  by  a  well- 
directed  process  which  is  in  practice  one  of  the  most  simple  of  all 
chemical  processes."     The  next  step  was  to  get  the  oil  in  paying 

330 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

quantities.  Fortunately  the  company  looked  with  favor  upon 
Bissell's  plan  of  drilling  and  pumping  and  in  the  spring  of  1858 
sent  one  of  the  stockholders,  E.  L.  Drake,  to  Titusville,  then  a 
mere  lumberman's  settlement  on  Oil  creek,  about  seventeen  miles 
from  where  it  unites  with  the  Allegheny  river.     Far  distant  from 


Edwin  Laurentine  Drake 

The  first  person  to  successfully  bore  for  oil  in 
•  Pennsylvania;    born    at    Greenville,    New    York, 

1819;  died  at  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  1880. 
Reproduced  for  this  work  from  a  negative  by 
J.   A.   Mather 

railroads  and  manufactories,  it  required  months  to  get  the  neces- 
sary tools  to  the  scene  of  his  operations,  and  more  months  to 
secure  a  man  of  experience  to  drill  the  proposed  well.  He  began 
at  first  by  digging,  but  found  this  a  slow  process.  In  February, 
1859,  he  engaged  a  practical  w^ell  driller  at  Tarentum,  Pa.,  who 
was  to  begin  his  work  in  the  following  April ;  but  he  disappointed 
his  employer  and  did  not  appear  till  some  months  later.  When 
he  did  arrive  they  experienced  considerable  difficulty  in  removing 


331 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

the  earth  down  to  the  rock,  where  the  drilHng  was  to  begin.  It 
was  this  fact  that  led  Drake  to  conceive  the  idea  of  driving  a  tube 
down  to  the  rock,  thirty-six  feet  below  the  surface.  This  was 
accomphshed  in  August  and  the  drill  was  started.  An  average 
of  about  three  feet  per  day  was  made.  The  last  of  August  when 
the  well  was  visited  it  was  found  nearly  filled  with  oil,  and  on  the 
following  day  a  pump  was  placed  in  it  and  twenty-five  barrels  of 
oil  taken  out.  Titusville  awoke  to  find  itself  famous,  and  in  an 
incredibly  brief  period  the  news  spread  over  the  country  that  any 
quantity  of  petroleum  could  be  obtained  in  that  vicinity  by  simply 
boring  a  well  a  short  distance  into  the  earth.  And  then  began 
that  spectacular  and  unparalleled  rush  of  men  into  western  Penn- 
sylvania which  astonished  the  world.  Most  of  them  were  young 
or  middle  aged,  adventurous  and  ambitious,  many  of  them  men 
of  high  intelligence,  and  many  also  wdiose  chief  motive  in  going 
there  was  for  gambling  and  dissipation.  Land  was  leased  along 
Oil  creek  and  elsewhere,  stock  companies  were  rapidly  organized 
who  by  lease  or  purchase  secured  great  tracts,  and  wells  were  put 
down  on  every  hand.  Several  hundred  barrels  of  petroleum  were 
sent  to  Joshua  Merrill,  at  South  Boston,  from  the  first  wells  and 
from  surface  production,  in  1858-9,  which  he  distilled  and  placed 
the  illuminant  on  the  market.  The  days  of  distillation  from  coal 
were  numbered. 

It  was  soon  learned  that  pumping  was  not  to  be  necessary  in 
many  of  the  wells.  On  the  Archie  Buchanan  farm,  near  Rouse- 
ville,  what  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  flowing  well  was  sunk  in 
i860.  It  was  not  tubed  and  was  only  200  feet  deep ;  it  soon  ceased 
to  flow.  The  price  of  oil  in  January,  i860,  was  $20  a  barrel,  but 
so  enormous  was  the  output  from  hundreds  of  flowing  wells,  some 
of  them  supplying  several  thousand  barrels  a  day,  that  at  the  end 
of  1 861  it  had  fallen  to  ten  cents.  The  second  productive  well 
was  sunk  by  Barnsdale,  Meade  &  Rouse  in  November  of  that  year, 
and  the  third  for  Brewer,  Watson  &  Co.,  in  December.  One  of 
the  very  early  organizations  in  the  business  was  the  Pennsylvania 

332 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

Rock  Oil  Co.,  before  mentioned,  of  which  Jonathan  Watson  was 
an  officer.  He  was  a  Titusvihe  merchant,  was  in  the  field,  and 
promptly  leased  all  the  land  he  could  secure  along'  Oil  Creek.  His 
first  well  produced  sixty  gallons  a  minute,  and  oil  was  then  selling 
at  sixty  cents  a  gallon.  In  two  years  from  that  time  the  farm  on 
which  this  well  was  situated  had  produced  165,000  barrels  of  oil. 
The  area  of  producing  wells  rapidly  spread  and  soon  Oil  City 
sprang  into  existence,  almost  in  a  day,  as  an  intensely  active  busi- 
ness center,  with  a  population  of  thousands,  a  result  that  followed 
later  at  numerous  other  points. 

With  the  oil  output  reaching  hundreds  of  thousands  of  barrels 
per  day,  as  it  did  before  two  years  had  passed  after  Drake's  first 
success,  the  problem  of  storing  and  getting  it  to  market  became  of 
vital  importance  and  the  task  of  solving  it  a  gigantic  one.  The 
distance  down  Oil  Creek  and  the  Allegheny  river  to  Pittsburg 
was  about  130  miles.  The  other  points  where  railroads  could 
be  reached  were  Meadville,  Corry,  Erie,  and  Union  City,  all  far 
away,  and  accessible  over  only  rough  country  roads.  Barrels  of 
every  description,  new  and  old,  were  gathered,  filled  with  oil,  and 
hauled  by  an  army  of  teamsters  over  these  roads  or  floated  down 
the  Allegheny  to  Pittsburg.  The  cost  of  this  work  was  enormous, 
three  or  four  dollars  per  barrel  being  paid  in  some  instances  for 
hauling  ten  miles.  Fleets  of  flat  boats  were  built  along  Oil  creek, 
which,  by  creating  artificial  floods  with  w^ater  stored  behind  nu- 
merous daius,  were  floated  to  the  river  and  so  on  to  market.  On 
the  river  a  fleet  of  a  thousand  boats  and  thirty  steamers  was  en- 
gaged in  this  w^ork.  Captain  J.  J.  Vandergrift,  a  former  Missis- 
sippi river  navigator,  came  east  and  here  saw  his  opportunity. 
He  towed  a  cargo  of  barrels  up  the  Allegheny  and  saw  at  once 
that  if  transportation  in  bulk  could  be  accomplished  a  great  saving 
would  be  effected.  He  built  a  number  of  boats  which  were  made 
oil-tight,  towed  them  up  the  river  to  the  creek,  filled  them  with  oil 
and  floated  them  down  to  Pittsburg,  realizing  immense  profits.  It 
was  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  railroads  would  soon  reach  out 

333 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

for  this  freight.  They  carried  an  immense  quantity  of  oil  during 
the  first  few  years  of  the  business,  especially  the  Pennsylvania 
road,  which  was  reached  at  Union  City,  twenty-two  miles  away; 
Corry,  twenty-six  miles,  and  Erie,  forty-four  miles.  By  the  be- 
ginning of  1863  the  so-called  Oil  Creek  railroad  was  opened  be- 
tween Titusville  and  Corry.  At  the  same  time  the  Erie  railroad 
company  built  a  line  from  Meadville  to  Franklin,  on  the  Alle- 
gheny, and  by  1865  both  roads  were  continued  to  Oil  City.  The 
freight  situation  was  thus  greatly  relieved ;  but  the  great  task  of 
getting  the  oil  from  the  wells  to  the  immediate  shipping  point  still 
remained,  and  ultimately  led  to  the  construction  of  the  first  pipe 
line. 

The  plan  of  piping  oil  from  the  wells  was  not  a  new  one  and 
had  been  frequently  discussed  almost  from  the  beginning,  but  it 
was  not  until  1864  that  Samuel  Van  Syckel,  who  had  "struck  oil" 
a  few  miles  from  the  railroad  and  found  he  must  pay  all  of  his 
profits  to  teamsters,  laid  the  first  pipe  for  conveying  the  product. 
It  was  a  momentous  event  in  oil  history.  When  his  pump  was 
set  at  work  and  the  oil  was  turned  into  the  pipe  it  was  found  that 
it  would  do  the  work  of  300  teams,  and  oil  transportation,  in  fact, 
the  whole  business,  was  soon  revolutionized.  There  was  intense 
opposition  to  this  and  later  pipe  lines  by  the  men  who  saw  that 
their  profitable  occupation  was  doomed,  and  finally  in  the  spring 
of  1866  the  Governor  of  the  State  was  called  on  to  protect  prop- 
erty and  workmen  of  the  lines.  Van  Syckel's  first  line  was  only 
four  miles  long,  extending  from  Pit  Hole  to  the  railroad,  but  it 
was  only  a  short  time  before  others  were  laid  to  Oil  Creek  and 
other  points,  so  that  in  1873  there  were  nearly  2,000  miles  in 
operation.     A  few  of  these  operated  by  gravity. 

It  Vv'as  inevitable  under  the  circumstances  that  every  acre  of 
land  in  western  Pennsylvania  on  which  there  was  the  slightest 
probability  of  drilling  a  producing  well  would  be  greedily  leased 
or  purchased.  The  business  grew  and  spread  with  almost  in- 
credible rapidity.     The  little  hamlets  along  Oil  Creek  became  pop- 

334 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

uloiis  cities,  and  on  some  of  the  farms  where  there  had  been  no 
settlement  at  ah,  villages  sprang  into  existence  almost  in  a  day, 
and  grew  into  active  business  centers  in  a  few  weeks.  Pit  Hole 
City,  Rouseville,  Petroleum  Centre  and  others  in  Venango  county, 


Drake's   First  Oil   Well 

Depth  69  1-2  feet;  average  daily  production  for 
one  year,  20  barrels;  drilling  commenced  May 
20,  1859;  finished  August  27,  1859.  Engraved 
especially  for  this  work  from  a  negative  made 
by  John  A.   Mather,  August   17,    1861 

with  Tidioute  and  Enterprise  in  the  southern  part  of  Warren 
county,  all  became  active  points  of  business  of  all  kinds,  their 
streets  teeming  with  a  throng  of  ambitious,  eager,  and  excited 
men.  Pit  Hole  City  from  a  single  farm  house  in  May,  1865, 
became  a  city  of  15,000  inhabitants  by  September  of  the  same 
year,  with  most  modern  public  and  private  institutions.  The 
first  producing  w^ell  at  that  point  gave  800  barrels  per  day  and 


335 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

hundreds  of  others  followed  rapidly,  many  of  them  of  far  greater 
capacity.  To-day  the  place  is  deserted,  the  supply  of  oil  in  that 
immediate  region  having  first  gradually  diminished  and  then 
failed  altogether.  The  same  general  statements  may  be  applied 
to  Tidioute  and  other  points,  where  producing  wells  of  large  ca- 
pacity were  drilled  soon  after  Drake's  success  on  Oil  creek.  The 
usual  rush  of  speculators,  workmen,  merchants,  mechanics  and 
gamblers  followed.  Diminishing  production,  the  panic  of  1873, 
and  depreciation  in  value  of  property  eventually  left  the  place  in 
stagnation.  Pleasantville,  Petroleum  Centre,  Triumph  Hill,  and 
other  points  became  successively  centers  of  wild  excitement,  the 
greater  number  of  which  have  since  settled  down  to  quiet  villages 
or  have  altogether  disappeared  as  far  as  regards  large  business 
interests. 

This  great  industry  of  getting  petroleum  out  of  the  earth, 
storing  it  and  then  sending  it  to  market,  gave  rise  to  others  little 
less  important.  The  principal  one  of  these  was  that  of  refining 
the  crude  oil.  At  the  works  of  Samuel  Downer,  of  Boston,  a  very 
large  and  prosperous  business  was  in  progress  in  the  distillation  of 
coal  oil  at  the  time  the  first  wells  were  opened  in  western  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  was  associated  in  the  work  with  Joshua  Merrill,  be- 
fore mentioned.  It  needed  no  special  foresight  to  enable  those 
men  to  realize  that  a  product  w\is  at  hand  that  would  soon  displace 
coal  as  a  source  of  oil  for  illumination.  They  promptly  accepted 
the  situation,  visited  the  oil  region,  and  in  1862  built  a  refinery  at 
Corry  at  a  cost  of  $250,000,  where  a  vast  business  was  carried  on. 
They  meanwhile  sent  crude  oil  to  the  Boston  works,  where  great 
quantities  were  refined. 

Extension  of  the  boundaries  of  the  oil  producing  region  was 
only  a  part  of  the  natural  evolution  of  the  industry.  Most  of  the 
land  in  the  near  vicinity  of  the  great  oil  centers  was  soon  a  veri- 
table thicket  of  derricks,  and  prospectors  were  perforce  driven 
farther  away  in  quest  of  the  buried  treasure.  The  first  belief  that 
producing  wells  could  be  drilled  only  in  valleys  had  been  proven  a 

336 


Ky,,^;,y//4,   //,.  .yf,.„A>,A.u,>,.'  ■  M.^^ /..-,/ :>i/'i.'y'^y'.^'^y-y^  ■  yV'-^./z-'^'Z. 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

fallacy,  and  at  the  same  time  it  had  been  learned  that,  while  oil 
might  be  found  in  the  "first  sand,"  from  which  Drake  obtained 
his  supply  at  a  depth  of  seventy  feet,  it  also  existed,  and  frequently 
in  such  quantities  and  under  such  pressure  that  wells  would  spout 
forth  thousands  of  barrels  in  a  day,  in  second,  third  or  fourth 
sands,  from  far  greater  depths.  These  facts  could  have  but  one 
tendency — to  immensely  increase  the  number  of  experimental 
wells,  as  well  as  their  average  depth ;  and  the  greater  the  number 
of  wells  drilled,  the  greater  the  number  of  those  that  were  merely 
"dry  holes,"  as  they  were  termed,  or  else  produced  in  such  limited 
quantities  as  to  be  unprofitable.  During  the  first  ten  years  of  the 
industry,  something  over  5,000  wells  were  drilled,  and  only  a  little 
more  than  one-fifth  of  these  were  profitable  producers.  It  was  a 
hazardous  lottery,  but  the  men  were  always  at  hand  'o  take  the 
chances. 

Another  important  feature  of  the  oil  industry  w^as  the  creation 
of  an  army  of  buyers  and  brokers,  who  represented  the  large  re- 
finers. They  visited  all  of  the  important  wells  and  purchased  the 
product,  relieving  the  owner  of  the  well  of  all  of  his  difficulties 
and  expense  in  transportation.  These  men  ultimately  established 
oil  exchanges  at  Oil  City  in  1869,  and  Titus ville  in  1871 ;  there 
had  been  one  in  New  York  city  as  early  as  1866.  Meanwhile  the 
refining  industry  grew  with  increased  production  until  in  1872  the 
capacity  of  the  refineries  in  the  oil  region  had  reached  about 
10,000  barrels.  It  was  then  confidently  predicted  and  lioped  that 
this  great  industry  would  ultimately  be  wholly  confined  to  this 
region,  where  the  producers  claimed  it  belonged.  This  sentiment 
was  destined  in  the  course  of  time  to  lead  to  serious  trouble. 

In  the  speculative  fever  that  attended  the  oil  business  in  all  of 
its  phases  it  is  not  surprising  that  prices  of  the  product  fluctuated 
between  wide  extremes  and  often  at  very  brief  notice.  In  1859 
crude  oil  brought  about  $10  a  barrel,  a  figure  that  w-as  again  ap- 
proximated in  1864,  while  a  year  or  two  earlier  it  was  scarcely 
worth  a  dollar  per  barrel,  and  at  one  time  in  1863  it  was  sold  as 

3-22  337 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

low  as  ten  cents  per  barrel.  These  great  fluctuations  during  a 
long  period  from  year  to  year,  are  given  in  the  accompanying  fig- 
ures. No  other  mineral  product  of  the  United  States  ever  sold 
at  such  widely  differing  prices  in  so  brief  a  period.  The  principal 
causes  of  this  fluctuation  were  the  abnormal  conditions  in  the 
Civil  war  period,  the  increase  of  gross  production,  the  effects  of 


General  view  of  Pithole,  1865 

Negative   by  John   A.    Mather 

the  Franco-Prussian  war  of  1870,  and  government  reports  of  the 
development  of  foreign  oil  fields.  To  these  were  added  about 
1870  the  beginning  of  a  practice  of  discrimination  in  freight  rates 
by  the  three  trunk  railroads  that  were  competing  for  the  oil  carry- 
ing business,  a  practice  that  ultimately  led  to  an  unparalleled  busi- 
ness conflict. 

The  yearly  average  prices  of  pipe-line  certificates  of  crude  oil 
at  tlie  wells  from  i860  to  1897  are  as  follows :  i860,  $9.59;  1861, 
49c.;  i862,$i.o5;  i863,$3.i5;  1864,  $8.06;  1865,  $6.59;  1866, 


338 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

$3.74;  i807,$2.4i;  1868,  $3.62 K^;  1869,  $5.63:^4;  1870,  $3.86; 
i87i,$4.34;  i872,$3.64;  i873,$i.83;  1874,$!. 17;  i875,$i.35; 
1876;  $2.56'4;  1877,  $2.42;  1878,  $1.19;  1879,  85%c.;  1880, 
94y2C.;  1881, .85%c.;  1882,78^^0.;  1883,  $1.05. )4  ;  1884,83/20.; 
1885,  87^j;c. ;  1886,  71/c.;  1887,66^0.;  1888,87^0.;  1889, 
94/c. ;  1890,86^0.;  1891,67c.;  1892,55^0.;  1893,64c.;  1894, 
83%c.;  1895,  $1.35%;  1896,  $1.17%;  1897,78^0. 


General  view  of  Pithole,  August,  1895 

This  view  is  the  same  as  the   original    made  in 
1865.      Negative   by  John   A.    Mather 

During  a  number  of  years  of  this  industry  "the  prices  of  cer- 
tificate oil,"  that  term  meaning  the  oil  taken  as  standard  and  mer- 
chantable by  the  pipe  lines,  ruled  the  market  or  selling  price  of 
crude  petroleum.  These  certificates  were  bought  and  sold  on  the 
floor  of  the  oil  exchanges.  In  past  years  there  was  a  large 
amount  of  oil  held  as  stocks,  and  as  these  were  depleted  it  was 
necessary  for  the  pipe  line  companies  to  recall  a  large  number  of 
these  certificates.  As  the  stocks  were  reduced,  it  came  to  pass 
that  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  oil  would  control  the  entire 
trade.  On  January  23,  1895,  the  following  notice  was  posted  at 
the  various  offices  of  what  was  known  as  the  Seep  Purchasing 


339 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

Agency,  Mr.  Joseph  Seep  being  the  purchaser  for  the  Standard 
Oil  Company :  "From  this  date  the  prices  quoted  are  not  those 
of  certificate  oil,  but  the  prices  paid  by  the  Seep  Purchasing 
Agency."  ("Production  of  Petroleum  in  1897,"  Oliphant.)  The 
quotations  made  in  the  Oil  City  Exchange,  at  various  times,  show 
that  there  was  considerable  difference  between  the  prices  paid  for 
certificates  and  those  paid  by  the  Seep  Agency. 

The  export  of  refined  oil  in  1870  was  4,501,983  barrels.  In 
1874  it  had  risen  to  7,315,406  barrels.  The  export  of  crude  in 
1870  was  329,218  barrels,  and  of  naphtha,  7,668,924  gallons.  In 
1874,  the  export  of  crude  was  334,035  barrels,  and  of  naphtha, 
9,565,566  gallons.  In  1880,  the  gross  production  amounted  to 
27,334,199  barrels. 

The  following  report  on  the  several  districts  in  the  year  1885 
gives  further  interesting  details  of  the  business : 

The  Allegheny  district  contained  an  area  of  thirty-one  square 
miles  and  had  produced  up  to  that  time  15,000,000  barrels  of  oil. 

The  Bradford  district,  which  included  the  central  and  north- 
ern parts  of  McKean  county.  Pa.,  and  southern  Cattaraugus 
county,  N.  Y.,  containing  133  square  miles,  of  which  121  were 
in  the  Bradford  district  proper,  had  produced  109,000,000  barrels. 
The  sand  in  this  region  is  gray,  black,  or  dark  brown  in  color. 

The  Warren  district  includes  an  area  of  thirty-five  square 
miles,  taking  in  the  eastern  part  of  Warren  county  and  the  north- 
east part  of  Forest  county.  The  oil  comes  from  sands  of  varying 
geological  horizons,  having  somewhat  the  appearance  of  the  Brad- 
ford and  the  Allegheny  sands,  the  depth  of  the  oil  sands  below 
the  Olean  Conglomerate  varying  from  1,100  to  1,850  feet.  All 
of  the  Bradford  and  Warren  district  sands  are  believed  to  be  of 
the  Chemung  Devonian  age.  The  Warren  district  produced  up 
to  1885  12,000,000  barrels  of  oil. 

The  Venango  district  was  the  scene  of  nearly  all  of  the  early 
developments  and  includes  forty  distinct  pools  between  Oil  City 
on  the  south  and  Pleasantville  on  the  north ;  it  includes  an  area  of 

340 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

twenty-eigiit  s(|narc  miles.  Tlie  oil  was  obtained  from  the  first, 
second,  and  third  principal  sand  beds,  contained  within  an  interval 
of  350  feet.  The  first  one  was  about  450  feet  below  the  Olean 
Conglomerate.  The  Venango  sands  belong  to  the  Catskill 
(Devonian)  formation;  they  are  white,  gray,  or  yellow  pebble 
rock,  not  so  homogeneous  as  in  the  Allegheny  and  Bradford  dis- 
tricts, and  consecjuently  there  was  always  greater  probability  of 
drilling  non-producing  wells.  The  Venango  district  produced  to 
1885,  55,000,000  barrels  of  oil. 

The  Butler  district  includes  pools  in  Butler  and  Clarion  coun- 
ties and  the  southeast  part  of  Venango  county,  with  an  area  of 
eighty-four  square  miles,  seventy-six  of  wdiich  are  in  Butler, 
Clarion,  and  Armstrong  fields  and  the  Butler  cross  belt.  It  has 
the  same  group  of  sands  as  the  Venango  district  and  produced  up 
to  1885,  69,000  barrels. 

The  Beaver  district  included  the  two  principal  pools  at  Slip- 
pery Rock  and  Smith's  Ferry,  the  former  and  that  part  of  the 
latter  situated  east  of  the  Pennsylvania  line  containing  sixteen 
square  miles.  In  both  a  heavy  oil  w^as  obtained  from  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Pottsville  Conglomerate,  and  an  amber  oil  from 
the  Berea  Grit  in  the  sub-carboniferous  series.  The  production 
up  to  1885  was  about  1,000,000  barrels. 

Of  the  oil  districts  as  defined  at  the  present  time  it  may  be 
stated  that  the  Bradford  district  produced  in  1897  3,904,230 
barrels.  It  is  estimated  that  the  total  production  of  this  field  out- 
side of  Pennsylvania  is  equal  to  about  13  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
production  of  the  Bradford  field,  making  507,549  barrels  pro- 
duced in  the  outside  portion  of  the  field  in  that  year. 

The  Warren  and  Forest  county  district  as  now  defined  in- 
cludes southwestern  McKean  county,  eastern  and  southeastern 
Warren  county,  northwestern  Elk  county,  and  northeastern  For- 
est county;  it  has  been  sub-divided  into  the  Tiona  pool,  Warren 
and  Clarendon  pool,  and  the  Middle  pool  or  district.  The  pro- 
duction for  .897  was  1,999,108  barrels. 

341 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

The  Lower  district  includes  the  southwestern  part  of  Warren 
county,  all  of  Venango  county,  the  eastern  part  of  Forest  county, 
and  all  of  Clarion,  Armstrong,  and  Butler  counties.  The  pro- 
duction for  1897  was  6,825,599  barrels. 

The  Allegheny  district  has  been  made  a  separate  district  and 
the  production  in  1897  was  2,958,540  barrels.  This  district 
shows  a  larger  proportional  decrease  during  the  preceding  year 
than  any  other  district. 

Washington  county  is  also  now  considered  a  separate  district 
and  produced  in  1897,  2,175,712  barrels.  Beaver  county  is  now 
another  separate  district  and  produced  in  1897,  317,926  barrels. 

Franklin  district  includes  an  area  lying  between  the  Allegheny 
river  and  French  creek  at  Franklin,  Venango  county,  in  which  is 
produced  a  natural  lubricating  oil,  which  is  extensively  used  by 
the  railroads  of  the  country.  The  production  in  1897  was  48,880 
barrels,  and  during  a  number  of  years  past  the  product  has  aver- 
aged about  50,000  barrels. 

Green  county  district  shows  comparatively  small  production, 
although  a  few  excellent  wells  were  drilled  in  1897,  and  several 
large  gas  wells  were  developed  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county 
in  the  year  named. 

Outside  of  these  districts  oil  was  found  in  isolated  pools  south 
and  southeast  of  the  Beaver  and  Butler  districts;  at  Mt.  Nebo, 
near  Pittsburg;  in  the  vicinity  of  Pleasant  Unity,  Westmoreland 
county ;  near  the  mouth  of  Dunlap  creek,  Fayette  county,  and  near 
Washington  in  Washington  county. 

Regarding  the  sources  of  petroleum  and  the  probability  of  ex- 
haustion of  the  supply,  Professor  Lesley  wrote  in  1883:  'Tt  is 
certain  that  petroleum  is  not  now  being  produced  in  the  Devonian 
rocks  by  distillation  or  otherwise.  What  has  been  stored  up  can 
be  got  out.  When  the  reservoirs  are  exhausted,  there  will  be  an 
end  of  it.  The  discovery  of  a  few  more  pools  of  two  or  three  mil- 
lion barrels  each  can  make  little  difference  in  the  general  result." 
Other  excellent  authorities  of  that  time  accepted  the  same  view, 

342 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

and  it  was  not  until  about  that  year  that  the  probable  diminution 
and  final  exhaustion  of  the  oil  supply  in  any  given  locality,  and 
the  revolutionizing-  consequences  of  such  a  result,  were  fully  ap- 
preciated. But  when  the  maximum  production  for  any  one 
month  (105,102  barrels)  was  reached  in  July,  1882,  and  a  long 
and  steady  decline  in  quantity  began  and  continued,  the  most 


The   Drake    Monument 

Erected  in  memory  of  Colonel  E.  L.  Drake,  at 
Titusville:  dedicated,  1901.  Negative  by  John 
A.    Mather 

optimistic  believers  in  a  supply  that  would  continue  indefinitely 
were  convinced  of  their  error.  In  his  work  on  "The  Product  and 
Exhaustion  of  the  Oil  Region  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York," 
(1885),  Charles  A.  Ashburner  wrote:  "A  defined  territory,  a 
product  inadequate  to  meet  the  demand  of  the  market  for  the  past 
eighteen  months,  a  growing  market  and  rapidly  diminishing 
stocks;  an  increasing  number  of  drilling  and  producing  wells, 
and  a  rapidly  falling  daily  average  product  per  well  are  all  sig- 
nificant signs  of  a  certain  decline  in  a  great  industry." 


343 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

These  statements,  startling  as  they  were  at  that  time,  have  all 
been  verified  as  far  as  relates  to  the  producing  territory  then  dis- 
covered and  developed.  Where  once  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
active  men  eagerly  toiled  in  one  or  another  branch  of  the  oil  in- 
dustry in  western  Pennsylvania,  and  the  hills  and  valleys  were 
covered  with  forests  of  derricks  in  thousands  of  which  the  sound 
of  the  pumps  never  ceased ;  where  busy  marts  of  business,  many 
of  which  were  the  creation  of  a  wonderfully  brief  period,  called 
out  the  energies  of  their  ambitious  residents,  all  is  now  stagna- 
tion, as  far  as  this  great  industry  is  concerned. 

It  was  estimated  in  July,  1883,  ^^""^^  there  were  17,100  pro- 
ducing wells  in  the  oil  region  under  consideration.  In  July,  1884, 
there  were  21,844,  ^^id  in  July,  1885,  22,524.  The  average  price 
of  crude  oil  in  July,  1885,  was  925^  cents  per  barrel,  which  was 
1334  cents  less  than  the  average  for  the  whole  of  the  year  1883. 
Down  to  and  including  the  year  1882  the  total  product  was  154,- 
000,000  barrels,  which  quantity  was  increased  at  the  beginning 
of  1885  to  261,000,000  barrels.  During  the  succeeding  years  to 
the  present  time  the  oil  producing  districts  of  this  country,  as 
well  as  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  have  been  increased  to  a  mar- 
vellous degree,  until  it  would  seem  that  notwithstanding  the  well- 
proven  fact  that  the  suppl}^  in  any  given  locality  must  inevitably 
decline,  the  gross  product  may  never  fall  below  the  needs  of  hu- 
manity. 

The  unjustifiable  discrimination  in  freight  rates  on  oil  by  the 
railroads,  to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  and  which  began  prior 
to  1870,  led  to  a  memorable  conflict  between  the  producers  and  re- 
finers in  the  oil  regions  on  the  one  side  and  the  combination  of  the 
great  refining  interests  of  Cleveland  with  the  railroads  on  the 
other.  Through  the  organization  then  known  as  the  South  Im- 
provement Company,  which  became  the  present  great  Standard 
Oil  Company,  by  John  D.  Rockefeller  and  his  colleagues,  they 
were  given  freight  rates  over  the  railroads  that  threatened  to  ruin 
every  producer  and  refiner  who  declined  to  merge  his  interests 

344 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

with  theirs.  In  1870  Cleveland  was  the  most  important  refining 
center  in  the  United  States,  taking  one-third  of  the  entire  output 
of  crude  oil  from  the  oil  regions.  Competition  between  the  refin- 
ers of  that  city  and  those  situated  near  the  source  of  supply  was 
intensely  active;  but  notwithstanding  the  apparent  advantages  of 
the  latter,  they  found  their  interests  declining  and  their  profits 
dwindling,  while  the  rival  organization  was  evidently  on  the  high 
tide  of  success.  The  mysterious  cause  of  this  condition  of  affairs 
was  finally  discovered  and  retaliation  on  the  part  of  the  oil  men 
in  Pennsylvania  was  prompt  and  effective.  The  railroads  had 
their  excuse  for  giving  the  Cleveland  men  a  lower  freight  rate 
than  they  would  grant  the  refiners  of  the  oil  region,  in  the  fact 
that  the  former  guaranteed  to  give  the  roads  a  vastly  greater 
volume  of  business.  Many  refiners  were  warily  led  to  believe 
that  if  they  did  not  join  the  great  organization  they  would  be 
financially  crushed — an  argument  that  was  effective  in  many  in- 
stances. To  still  further  strengthen  the  lever  with  which  the 
combination  was  attempting  to  rule  or  overthrow  the  business  of 
the  independent  operators,  it  was  announced  early  in  1872  that  a 
heavy  advance  in  freight  rates  would  be  made  on  oil  from  the  oil 
region,  from  which  their  opponents  were  to  be  exempt.  When 
this  statement  was  read  in  the  newspapers  the  Pennsylvania  oil 
centers  were  thrown  into  an  angry  panic,  and  within  twenty-four 
hours  a  great  mass  meeting  was  held  in  Titusville  and  a  little  later 
was  followed  by  another  in  Oil  City.  These  excited  gatherings 
resulted  in  the  organization  of  the  Petroleum  Producers'  Union, 
which  at  once  resolved  that  no  new  wells  should  be  started  by 
its  members  within  sixty  days  and  that  no  oil  whatever  should  be 
sold  to  their  opponents.  They  denounced  the  whole  business  as  a 
conspiracy;  ordered  its  history  printed  and  sent  in  many  thou- 
sands to  United  States  and  State  officials,  and  to  many  railroad  and 
business  men  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  A  monster  petition  was 
sent  to  the  State  legislature  asking  for  a  free  pipe  line  bill,  and 
during  a  number  of  weeks  ordinary  business  was  to  a  large  extent 

345 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &    FEDERAL 

abandoned.  The  efforts  of  these  determined  men  of  the  oil  re- 
gion to  break  down  the  combination  of  raih^oads  and  Cleveland 
refiners  were  finally  effective,  and  in  March,  1872,  the  railroad  com- 
panies annulled  their  contracts  with  the  South  Improvement  Com- 
pany. It  was  soon  discovered,  however,  that  the  Standard  Oil 
Company  was  only  another  name  for  the  South  Improvement 
Company,  and  that  its  power  and  influence  with  the  railroads  was 
almost  compulsory.  By  observing  the  utmost  secrecy,  rebates 
were  again  secured  and  the  old  difficulties  sprang  into  life  again 
to  hamper  operations  and  diminish  profits  of  the  oil  interest  in 
this  State.  Mr.  Rockefeller  and  some  of  his  business  associates 
visited  the  oil  regions  and  there  used  their  persuasive  powers  to 
the  utmost  in  efforts  to  bring  the  whole  refining  interest  under 
control  of  their  company.  They  met  with  some  measure  of  suc- 
cess and  gradually  since  that  time  the  great  Standard  Oil  Com- 
pany has  reached  out  its  tentacles  into  all  the  oil  producing  sec- 
tions of  the  country  and  substantially  gained  an  ascendency  which 
no  opposition  has  yet  been  able  to  overcome.  Its  recent  history 
is  too  well  known  to  need  repetition  here.  Whether  its  operations 
have  inured  to  the  good  or  the  ill  of  the  country  at  large,  it  stands 
as  one  of  the  most  gigantic  business  monopolies  the  world  has 
ever  seen, 

NATURAL  GAS 

In  this  connection,  and  because  of  its  close  association  with 
the  oil  interests  of  this  State,  brief  reference  to  the  production  of 
what  is  generally  known  as  natural  gas  will  possess  a  measure  of 
value  and  interest.  The  existence  of  what  were  called  gas  springs 
was  known  to  settlers  in  some  localities  many  years  ago,  the  first 
probably  near  Fredonia,  N.  Y.  But  it  was  not  until  after  182 1 
that  --ny  attempt  was  made  to  utilize  the  product;  burners  were 
then  put  in  use,  and  the  gas  was  confined  and  directed  through 
them  for  illuminating  purposes.  In  1858  a  well  was  put  down 
which  supplied  gas  for  200  burners;    another  followed  in  1871. 

346 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

In  a  geological  sense  the  oil  and  the  gas  regions  are  one  and 
the  same.  The  strata  drilled  through  in  sinking  the  great  gas 
wells  near  Pittsburg  are  in  general  the  same  as  the  strata  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  Devonian  and  Carboniferous  series  which  have 
been  so  extensively  pierced  for  the  production  of  petroleum.  The 
rocks  which  supply  gas  are  found  in  a  vertical  range  of  about 
3,000  feet  of  Carboniferous  and  Devonian  strata  extending  from 
the  Mahoning  sandstone  at  the  base  of  the  Lower  Barren  meas- 
ures, which  is  an  average  of  500  feet  below  the  Pittsburg  coal  bed, 
down  to  the  Smethport  oil  sand  in  McKean  county,  which  is  350 
feet  below  the  great  Bradford  oil  sand  of  that  region.  The  prin- 
cipal gas  horizons  are  (i)  the  probable  representative  of  the 
Venango  first  oil  sand  at  Pittsburg,  1,800  to  1,850  feet  below  the 
Pittsburg  coal  bed;  (2)  the  Sheffield  gas  sand,  which  appears  to 
be  the  lowest  oil  and  gas  sand  in  Warren  county  (the  horizon  of 
which  is  about  800  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  interval  of  3,000 
feet)  ;  (3)  the  Bradford  oil  sand,  1,775  ^^^^  below  the  base  of  the 
Pottsville  Conglomerate.  It  should  be  understood,  however,  that 
gas  has  been  found  outside  of  these  three  horizons. 

Carburetted  hydrogen  is  the  chief  component  of  gas  from  the 
earth,  which  is  generally  traced  to  bituminous  matter,  from  which 
it  may  also  be  distilled,  as  is  practiced  in  producing  it  from  coal. 
The  oil  wells  in  very  many  instances  and  places  produced  this  gas 
— some  of  them  nothing  else  and  in  enormous  quantities.  But  as 
far  as  relates  to  the  oil  region  under  consideration  in  this  chapter, 
the  gas  was  long  considered  a  useless  and  dangerous  product. 
About  the  year  1870  it  began  to  be  utilized  in  various  localities 
and  from  that  time  forward  many  wells  were  drilled  exclusively 
for  it.  On  the  upper  Cumberland  river,  in  Kentucky,  gas  accu- 
mulated in  such  quantities  beneath  the  sheets  of  Lower  Silurian 
limestone,  and  the  pressure  was  so  great,  that  hundreds  of  tons 
of  material  were  sometimes  blow-n  up  out  of  the  earth  by  its 
volume,  giving  such  places  the  local  name  of  "gas  volcanoes." 
Along  the  Ohio  river  gas  frequently  escaped  in  large  volume  from 

347 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

oil  wells,  and  wells  bored  there  in  1866  at  the  same  geological 
horizon  that  produced  oil  at  Oil  creek,  struck  fissures  at  600  feet 
depth  from  which  gas  shot  up  with  enormous  pressure,  blowing 
the  drilling  tools  far  into  the  air,  accompanied  by  a  jet  of  water 
that  rose  100  feet  from  the  earth.  The  water  in  such  wells  was 
excluded  by  the  insertion  of  a  tube  and  the  gas  was  thus  separated 
and  confined  within  itself.  Its  value  as  a  heat  producer  finally 
attracted  the  attention  of  large  manufacturers,  pipe  lines  were  laid 
in  many  localities  and  it  became  a  very  important  factor  in  large 
industries  and  for  domestic  heating  purposes.  It  so  continues  to 
the  present  time,  though  its  diminution  and  gradual  extinction 
in  given  localities  corresponds  in  that  respect  with  oil.  In  the 
case  of  flowing  oil  wells  it  is  the  theory  that  the  oil  is  forced  up- 
ward by  the  great  gas  pressure;  when  the  latter  diminishes  the 
flow  decreases  in  corresponding  ratio.  A  remarkable  gas  well 
was  drilled  at  East  Sandy  in  1869,  in  which  the  flow  caught  fire 
and  burned  during  more  than  a  year,  the  roar  of  the  flame  being 
heard  for  miles.  After  its  partial  exhaustion  the  well  was  piped 
and  the  gas  was  used  for  producing  steam  power  for  drilling, 
pumping,  etc.  A  large  number  of  gas  wells  were  drilled  in  the 
early  years  of  the  industry  at  Gas  City,  Cranberry  township. 
Venango  county,  and  the  area  from  which  it  was  profitably  drawn 
gradually  spread  to  many  other  localities.  In  June,  1872,  a  well 
was  drilled  for  oil  two  miles  from  Fairview,  Butler  county.  Pa., 
to  a  depth  of  1,335  ^^^t»  when  it  was  abandoned  on  account  of 
the  flow  of  water  and  gas.  A  few  months  later  the  pressure  of 
the  gas  became  so  strong  that  it  forced  all  the  water  from  the  well 
and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  a  company  was  formed  to  utilize  the 
product.  A  pipe  ^^i  inches  in  diameter  was  laid  to  Fairview. 
and  later  was  continued  three  miles  farther  to  Petrolia,  and  under 
a  pressure  of  eighty  pounds  to  the  square  inch  the  gas  was  ex- 
tensively used  for  both  light  and  heat. 

In  the  Newton  well,  about  five  miles  northeast  of  Titusville, 
gas  was  struck  at  a  depth  of  786  feet,  which  escaped  with  such 

348 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

tremendous  force  as  to  blow  out  a  sand  pump  and  tools,  with 
great  volumes  of  water,  to  a  height  of  loo  feet  in  the  air.  The 
roar  of  the  escaping-  gas  was  heard  ten  miles  distant.  The  total 
pressure  was  about  350  pounds  to  the  inch  and  500,000  cubic  feet 
of  gas  escaped  per  day.  Capitalists  made  plans  for  utilizing  the 
product  at  Titusville,  and  the  well  was  purchased  by  Henry 
Hinckley,  of  that  place.  On  the  ist  of  August,  1872,  it  was  con- 
veyed to  the  city  in  a  two-inch  pipe,  which  was  later  superseded 
by  a  33/4-inch  main,  and  was  long  extensively  used  in  the  place 
and  by  surrounding  farmers  and  manufacturers.  In  later  years 
the  total  gas  supply  was  enormously  increased,  both  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  elsewhere,  and  it  was  conveyed  to  Pittsburg,  Buffalo, 
and  many  other  large  and  small  business  centers,  where  it  was 
almost  universally  used  in  manufacturing  operations  of  every  de- 
scription, and  in  public  buildings  and  dwellings  for  heat  and  light. 
In  1873  there  were  twenty-five  wells  in  operation  in  this  State, 
the  greater  part  of  which  were  drilled  especially  for  gas,  which 
was  reached  at  depths  varying  from  500  to  700  feet.  Unlike  oil. 
natural  gas  cannot  be  commercially  transported  to  points  far  dis- 
tant from  the  supply,  excepting  in  pipes ;  hence,  when  the  supply 
diminishes  and  finally  ceases  in  any  given  district,  that  district 
must  seek  its  light  and  heat  from  other  sources.  This  has  been 
the  result  in  many  localities  where  brilliant  anticipations  were 
once  entertained  that  the  supply  would  continue  indefinitely. 

CEMENT 

Among  the  valuable  natural  products  of  Pennsylvania  that 
have  aided  in  giving  the  State  prominence  in  industrial  operations 
are  the  rocks  that  supply  the  requisite  materials  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  what  is  commonly  known  in  this  country  and  in  Europe 
as  Portland  cement.  These  materials,  although  they  are  widely 
distributed  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  are  not,  in  very  numer- 
ous localities,  found  in  such  juxtaposition  or  even  proximity  as  to 

349 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

justify  attempts  to  make  profitable  use  of  them  in  producing  com- 
mercial cement. 

There  is  a  widely  existing  misapprehension  as  to  the  antiquity 
of  true  cement.  Much  has  been  said  and  written  of  the  old 
Roman  cement  which  has  bound  together  great  blocks  of  ma- 
sonry, withstanding  the  wear  of  time  and  the  disintegrating  ef- 
fects of  weather.  It  is  now  known  by  those  who  are  well  versed 
on  the  subject  that  this  binding  material  used  by  those  ancient 
builders  was  nothing  more  than  a  judicious  mixture  of  slacked 
lime  and  a  peculiar  powder  or  sand  made  by  crushing  the  volcanic 
deposits  of  Italy,  producing  a  mortar  that  would  after  consider- 
able time  set  firmly  under  water.  By  reason  of  the  silicious  char- 
acter of  this  sand,  the  mortar  possessed  this  "setting"  property 
and  also  became  in  time  a  substance  of  great  strength  and  dura- 
bility. But  it  was,  after  all,  only  a  form  of  our  old  lime  and  sand 
mortar,  and  it  did  not  always  endure.  Pliny,  in  writing  of  his 
experiences  in  old  Rome,  mentions  buildings  which  had  fallen, 
and  frequently  through  the  weakness  of  the  binding  materials 
used  in  the  masonry. 

There  was  little  improvement  in  the  character  of  mortar  used 
before  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Stone  and  brick  con- 
structions still  had  to  be  repointed  with  new  mortar  every  few 
years,  and  chimneys  not  infrequently  rebuilt.  Even  at  the  time 
mentioned  the  new  discovery  claimed  to  have  been  made  by  a 
Frenchman  was  not  of  great  value.  His  petition  to  the  king  was 
based  upon  his  alleged  discovery  that  the  way  to  make  the  perfect 
mortar  was  to  take  the  lime  hot  from  the  kiln  and  at  once  incor- 
porate it  with  sand  and  water,  instead  of  letting  the  lime  and 
sand  slake  together  for  months,  as  was  the  old  practice.  Nothing 
practical  came  of  this  discovery,  and  so  it  was  not  until  about  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century  that  the  first  real  progress  was  made. 
Then  the  great  Smeaton,  builder  of  the  famous  Eddystone  light- 
house, facing  the  problem  of  erecting  his  massive  foundations 
deep  under  water,  made  the  discovery  of  hydraulic  cement,  or 

350 


Henrv  Martvn   llovt 


'rcnchcr;  soldier  in  Civil  War  and  mustered 
nut  "itli  rank  of  brigadier-general;  additional 
law  judge  courts  of  Luzerne  County,  1867; 
governor,    1879-18S3 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

hytlraulic  limestone  mortar.  During  liis  nunicrtnis  experiments 
he  learned  that  the  theory  of  the  ancients  that  the  harder  the  lime- 
stone burned,  the  harder  the  cement,  was  incorrect.  He  found 
that  the  softer  stones,  those  that  contained  a  fair  amount  of  argil- 
laceous substances,  or  clay,  gave  better  results,  and  he  established 
the  principle  that  a  limestone  containing  one-fifth  to  one-fourth 
residue  when  dissolved  in  hydrochloric  acid,  would  set  under 
water.  To  such  stones  he  gave  the  title  of  hydraulic  limestones, 
and  from  the  principle  laid  down  by  him  come  the  two  great  defi- 
nitions of  what  are  now  known  as  the  "natural,"  and  the  artificial 
(Portland)  cements  of  commerce.  Smeaton  was  not  a  financial 
gainer  through  his  discovery,  and  in  1796  James  Parker  of  Christ 
Church,  Surrey  county,  England,  invented  and  patented  a  cement 
to  which  he  gave  the  title  "Roman,"  claiming  it  was  identical 
with  the  one  used  by  the  ancients.  He  marketed  his  product  to 
a  considerable  extent.  At  the  same  time  experiments  were  pro- 
gressing along  similar  lines,  but  it  was  not  until  1812  that  a  num- 
ber of  men  of  that  country,  after  long  research,  probed  the  secret 
of  making  hydraulic  mortar,  and  actually  made  in  an  artificial 
way  a  cement  similar  to  the  well-known  Portland  cement. 

In  1813  Joseph  Aspdin,  a  bricklayer  of  Leeds,  England,  took 
out  a  patent  for  a  cement,  the  details  of  which  closely  follow  the 
later  processes  of  manufacture,  and  gave  his  product  the  name 
Portland  cement,  on  account  of  its  resemblance  when  set  to  the 
Portland  stone,  a  well  known  building  material  of  England.  This 
cement  he  placed  on  the  market  in  opposition  to  the  Roman  ce- 
ment of  Parker  and  competition  was  active  many  years.  Other 
successful  cement  works  were  established  in  England  in  later 
years.  The  question  of  the  relative  value  of  the  Portland  and  the 
artificial  cements  was  finally  settled  some  time  after  1850,  by  John 
Grant,  the  engineer  in  charge  of  the  London  drainage  system. 
He  conclusively  showed  that  Portland  cement,  with  three  parts 
sand,  was  as  strong  as  Roman  cement  with  one  part  sand.  This 
declaration  gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  manufacture  of  the  cement. 

2-23  353 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

In  this  country  the  cement  industry  was  called  into  being 
largely  by  the  building  of  the  early  artificial  waterways.  When 
the  necessity  for  its  use  arose,  limestones  were  discovered  which, 
according  to  the  theories  of  Smeaton  and  others,  developed  the 
qualities  necessary  for  making  a  good  hydraulic  cement.  So, 
here  as  well  as  in  England,  the  natural  cement  industry  preceded 
the  manufacture  of  the  Portland  cement.  Between  the  years 
1830  and  i860  cement  works  were  established  on  the  line  of  the 
Richmond  and  Allegheny  canal  at  Balcony  Falls ;  on  the  Ohio 
river  canal  at  Louisville;  on  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  canal  at 
Cumberland  and  Hancock,  Md. ;  on  the  Erie  canal  at  Howe's 
Cave;  on  the  line  of  the  Lehigh  canal  at  Siegfried's  Bridge,  Pa., 
etc. 

The  Portland  cement  was  imported  from  England  in  a  small 
way  in  1870,  and  its  excellence  in  every  essential  characteristic 
soon  brought  it  into  extensive  use.  The  natural  result  of  this 
business  was  an  attempt  to  produce  the  same  article  in  this  coun- 
try. About  1870  and  a  little  later  David  O.  Saylor,  of  Allen- 
town,  Pa.,  was  operating  a  small  natural  cement  works  on  the  line 
of  the  Lehigh  canal,  at  Coplay,  Lehigh  county.  Pa.  Experi- 
ments made  by  him  proved  that  by  burning  to  incipient  vitrifica- 
tion the  natural  rocks  in  his  quarry,  he  could  make  a  cement  that 
would,  for  a  short  period,  stand  a  tensile  strain  equal  to  the  im- 
ported Portland  article.  But  he  learned,  also,  that  if  it  was  left 
for  a  time  in  briquettes  or  in  constructed  work,  it  would  crumble 
away,  and  that  this  defect  was  caused  by  the  variation  in  the  raw 
rocks  used.  By  his  native  ability  and  perseverance  he  then 
studied  and  successfully  applied  to  the  Lehigh  rocks  the  principle 
that  had  governed  the  production  of  the  imported  Portland  ce- 
ment, though  he  was  dealing  with  a  material  never  before  used 
for  this  purpose.  Some  later  figures  of  the  present  production 
of  this  indispensable  article  in  the  United  States  and  its  immense 
value  to  the  builders  of  the  country  will  convey  an  idea  of  the  vast 
importance  of  Mr.  Saylor's  work.     He  found  that  it  was  neces- 

354 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

sary  to  grind  the  raw  rocks  together  to  produce  a  material  of 
uniform  analysis  and  then  to  m^ke  this  material  into  blocks  of 
homogeneous  character  before  placing  them  in  the  kilns  for  cal- 
cination. Mr.  Saylor  was  materially  aided  by  John  W.  Eckert, 
a  graduate  of  the  Lehigh  University,  who  was  the  first  chemist 
of  the  Coplay  Cement  Company.  This  company  Mr.  Saylor 
afterwards  left  to  join  the  American  Cement  Company,  which 
had  been  established  by  Robert  W.  Lesley,  who  had  also  been 
connected  with  Mr.  Saylor. 

While  this  work  in  the  Lehigh  region  was  being  carried  on  to 
success,  experiments  and  young  industries  were  in  progress  else- 
where in  this  State.  Early  in  1875  works  were  started  by  Wil- 
liam P.  Shinn  and  John  K.  Shinn  at  Wampum,  Lawrence  county. 
Pa.,  using  limestone  and  clay.  These  works  are  now  owned  by 
the  Crescent  Cement  Company  and  are  on  the  high  tide  of  suc- 
cess. Experiments  in  other  sections  of  the  country  were  not  so 
successful,  for  varied  reasons,  and  in  1881,  out  of  the  six  original 
works  established,  three  were  failures  and  the  outlook  for  the  in- 
vestor was  not  encouraging.  The  chief  difficulty  encountered 
was  the  cost  of  getting  the  raw  material  into  powder,  then  into 
paste,  then  into  blocks  and  then  into  the  kiln.  Foreign  Portland 
cement  at  this  time  had  full  control  of  the  market.  About  1884-5 
James  M.  Willcox,  E.  J.  DeSmedt,  and  Robert  W.  Lesley  took 
out  patents  for  mixing  liquid  hydro-carbons  with  the  paste,  thus 
producing  a  material  which  could  be  compressed  into  balls  and 
put  at  once  into  the  kiln,  saving  the  intermediate  steps  of  drying, 
etc.  These  processes  were  based  upon  the  use  of  the  by-products 
of  coal  gas  manufacture  and  were  adopted  in  the  works  of  the 
American  Cement  Company,  at  Egypt,  Lehigh  county,  Pa.  The 
later  advance  in  the  price  of  coal  tar  caused  the  abandonment  of 
the  process,  but  while  it  was  in  use,  other  inventions  by  Mathey, 
Navarro,  and  Ransome  in  the  same  direction  gave  rise  to  the 
establishment  of  the  Atlas  Portland  Cement  Company,  which  has 
large  works  in  the  Lehigh  region,  and  produces  great  quantities 

355 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

of  Portland  cement.  These  processes,  based  originally  upon  the 
calcination  of  the  crushed  raw  rock  by  oil  in  revolving  kilns,  were 
unsuccessful  at  first  from  the  same  causes  that  had  given  Mr. 
Saylor  trouble  in  his  early  attempts.  But  improvements  were 
made  whereby  the  material  was  ground  to  an  impalpable  powder 
and  slightly  moistened  before  being  run  through  the  kilns.  This 
method  has  proven  wonderfully  successful  and  is  to-day  the 
foundation  of  the  great  American  Portland  cement  industry. 

A  clear  conception  of  the  cement  industry  cannot  be  gained 
without  a  general  understanding  of  the  inherent  dififerences  be- 
tween natural  cement  (before  mentioned)  and  Portland  cement, 
and  the  character  of  the  raw  rocks  used  as  regards  their  chemical 
properties,  etc.  Broadly  speaking,  the  natural  cement  is  made 
from  an  argillaceous  limestone,  found  in  either  crystalline  or  lam- 
inated form,  and  which  when  calcined  contains  from  40  to  55  per 
cent,  of  lime,  or  lime  and  magnesia,  and  from  45  to  60  per  cent, 
of  argillaceous  material — silica,  alumina,  and  iron  oxide.  These 
stones  are  found  in  many  parts  of  the  country  and  cement  is  made 
from  them  by  burning  in  open  kilns.  The  efifect  of  the  burning 
is  to  drive  out  the  carbonic  acid  gas  and  the  moisture.  After 
burning,  the  material  is  first  crushed  and  then  ground  to  the  finest 
powder.  This  natural  cement  is  subject  to  a  number  of  varia- 
tions that  are  beyond  control  of  the  producer :  It  is  made  from  a 
rock  which  may  vary  from  day  to  day  in  its  constant  ingredients ; 
it  may  contain  more  or  less  moisture;  its  calcination  in  open  kilns 
is  a  good  deal  dependent  on  the  weather;  and  the  low  temperature 
at  which  it  is  burned  does  not  produce  an  absolute  chemical  union 
of  all  the  ingredients.  But  it  may  be  said  to  be  a  very  safe  and 
sound  building  material,  produced  in  the  l^est  way  out  of  "natural" 
material,  containing  the  ingredients  which  nearly  approach  the 
standard  of  artificial  cement.  In  its  manufacture  no  attempt  is 
made  to  expose  the  material  to  a  degree  of  heat  sufficient  to  bring 
all  the  ingredients  into  close  chemical  union  and  activity,  and  there 
is  no  attempt  to  break  down  the  structure  of  the  rock  or  to  pro- 

356 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

duce  a  homogeneous  material  for  calcination,  other  than  the  nat- 
ural rock. 

Portland  cement  is  essentially  an  artificial  product.  It  began 
with  the  combination  of  the  chalks  and  clays  of  England,  mixed 
in  such  proportions  as  to  produce  the  highest  grade  of  the  article. 
It  can  be  produced  by  properly  proportioning  limestones,  argil- 
laceous limestones,  marls,  with  argillaceous  limestones  and  forms 
of  clays.  The  basic  principle  is  that  the  combined  material  shall, 
after  calcination,  analyze  from  55  to  65  per  cent,  in  lime,  and  the 
remainder  of  silica,  alumina,  and  oxide  of  iron.  The  further  and 
all-important  element  is  that  all  these  materials  shall  be  broken 
down  into  the  finest  powder,  so  that  all  the  calcareous  elements 
may  find  equally  finely  ground  argillaceous  elements  w^ith  which 
to  combine  and  form  silicates  and  aluminates  of  lime  in  the  chem- 
ical crucible  of  the  kiln. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  manufacture  it  was  extremely  difficult 
to  overcome  the  widespread  objection  that  the  raw  materials  in 
America  were  dissimilar  to  those  in  England  and  that  good  Port- 
land cement  could  not  be  produced  here.  But  experience  and 
analysis  have  proved  that  the  actual  character  of  the  ingredients 
used  is  not  all-important,  if  the  final  composition  is  kept  within 
fairly  reasonable  limits.  This  has  been  fully  accomplished  and 
the  results  of  tests  of  the  American  product  soon  overcame  the 
objections  at  first  urged  against  it.  A  good  Portland  cement  may 
be  made  from  chalk,  marl,  or  limestone  containing  carbonate  of 
lime  between  80  and  100  per  cent.,  and  clay  containing  silica  be- 
tween 60  and  70  per  cent,  and  alumina  between  6  and  10  per  cent., 
mixed  in  the  proper  proportions;  or,  it  can  be  made  with  argil- 
laceous limestone  containing  60  to  70  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of 
lime,  and  limestone  containing  from  80  to  100  per  cent,  of  car- 
bonate of  lime,  the  remainder  being  silica  and  alumina.  Broadly 
speaking,  from  these  materials  Portland  cement  is  made. 

The  selection  of  raw  materials  with  reference  to  their  geo- 
graphical situation  and  their  juxtaposition,  convenience  of  fuel, 

357 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

and  transportation  facilities  presents  the  first  problem  to  the  man- 
ufacturer. The  relation  of  the  selected  materials  to  each  other, 
whether  soft  or  crystalline,  constitutes  another  problem  for  solu- 
tion, which  is  of  the  greatest  importance ;  but  these  two  problems 
solved,  the  success  of  manufacture  then  depends  only  upon  eco- 
nomical handling,  calcining  and  grinding  of  the  materials. 


The  Great  Seal  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania — obverse 

In  manufacturing  the  Portland  cement  what  is  known  as  the 
wet  process  was  used  in  Europe  and  during  many  years  in  this 
country,  with  a  number  of  minor  variations  in  methods ;  but  they 
were  all  predicated  upon  supplying  to  the  flame  in  the  kiln  a 
properly  proportioned,  thoroughly  pulverized  and  mixed  material, 
made  into  forms  of  some  kind,  duly  dried,  and  thus  presenting 
to  the  flame  a  new  rock  containing  all  the  necessary  ingredients  in 
proper  mechanical  union.  These  old  methods  have  been  greatly 
improved  in  America  in  many  details,  and  especially  through  the 
use  of  the  American  dry  kiln.  This  invention  had  its  origin  in 
Europe,  and  it  proved  a  failure  in  England;   but  after  some  im- 

358 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

provements  it  was  perfected  until  now  the  greater  part  of  the 
American  cement  is  made  by  its  use.  Briefly,  this  kihi  is  an  iron 
cylinder  sixty  feet  long  by  six  feet  in  diameter,  which  is  revolved 
about  once  each  minute.  Into  one  end  of  this  the  raw  material 
is  introduced  and  at  the  other  a  flame  drives  out  the  moisture  and 
carbonic  acid  gas  and  subsequently  calcines  the  material  into  a 


The  Great  Seal  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania— reverse 

clinker  in  the  form  of  small  lumps.  This  product  drops  out  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  kiln,  is  conveyed  to  a  cooler — a  high  iron 
tower  with  forced  draught,  whence  it  goes  to  the  grinding  ma- 
chinery. This  so-called  dry  process  effected  great  economy,  and 
now  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  product  of  the  country  is  thus 
made.  But  the  use  of  dry  raw  material  required  heavy  and  costly 
crushing  machinery,  and  American  invention  supplied  it  in  several 
different  forms.  What  is  known  as  the  Gates  crusher,  which  had 
been  largely  used  in  the  coal  mining  regions,  was  first  adopted  for 
the  manufacture  of  cement  in  Lehigh  county,  Pa.,  and  it  is  to-day 
the  standard  machine  in  all  cement  mills  using  rock  as  raw  ma- 


359 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

terial.  So,  also,  in  grinding  machinery,  most  important  improve- 
ments have  been  made  by  American  inventors,  the  principal  one 
being  the  Griffin  mill,  through  the  use  of  which  the  preparation 
of  the  raw  material  was  greatly  cheapened. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  during  thirty  years  past  Portland 
cement  has  been  the  chief  binding  material  in  the  heaviest  ma- 
sonry in  the  world,  it  will  be  understood  that  great  difficulty  was 
long  experienced  in  the  introduction  of  the  American  product. 
In  the  early  days  of  the  industry,  where  the  change  from  well 
known  brands  of  the  foreign  product  to  the  American  involved  a 
saving  of  only  $2,000  or  $3,000  on  a  building  costing  $1,000,000 
or  more,  it  was  extremely  difficult  for  the  American  cement  to 
obtain  a  commercial  foothold.  But  in  time  prejudice  largely  dis- 
appeared, the  foreign  cement  was  slowly  crowded  from  the  mar- 
ket, and  our  native  product  reached  the  high  rank  it  now  enjoys. 
Where  twenty  years  ago  the  production  of  American  Portland 
cement  was  about  85,000  barrels  a  year,  it  has  rapidly  and  regu- 
larly increased  until  in  1901  it  reached  the  enormous  quantity  of 
over  12,700,000  barrels;  and  this  has  been  done  without  ma- 
terially reducing  the  product  of  8,000,000  to  9,000,000  barrels  of 
natural  cement  which  are  still  being  annually  produced.  At  the 
same  time,  it  should  be  noted  that  since  1890  the  quantity  of  im- 
ported cement  used  has  shown  little  variation  from  about  2,000,- 
000  barrels  annually. 

As  before  stated,  the  works  of  David  O.  Saylor,  at  Coplay, 
Lehigh  county,  Pa.,  and  the  plant  of  the  Wampum  Cement  Com- 
pany, in  Lawrence  county,  were  the  first  cement  producers  in  this 
State.  They  manufactured  substantially  the  whole  of  the  85,000 
barrels  mentioned  as  the  product  of  1882.  During  the  early  years, 
after  the  \Vampum  works  ceased  to  produce  in  large  quantities,  it 
was  the  Saylor  plant  that  was  the  largest  contributor  to  the  prod- 
uct until  about  1885.  The  center  of  the  Pennsylvania  industry 
had  been  for  years  in  the  territory  lying  substantially  between 
Phillipsburg,  N.  J.,  and  Cementon  and  Siegfried's  Bridge,  in  Le- 

360 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

high  and  Northampton  counties,  Pa.  This  field  includes  nearly 
all  of  the  largest  producing  works  in  the  United  States  and  within 
it  are  gathered  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  total  producing  capac- 
ity of  the  country.  In  1890  there  were  sixteen  works  in  the 
whole  country,  and  those  situated  in  Lehigh  county,  with  one  near 
Phillipsburg,  N.  J.,  produced  about  60  per  cent,  of  all  the  Port- 
land cement  made  in  the  United  States;  and  almost  continually 
since  that  year  the  same  five  works  have  produced  61  per  cent,  of 
the  total  output.  In  1898  what  is  known  as  the  Lehigh  district 
produced  in  its  eight  works  72.4  per  cent,  of  the  3,692,284  barrels 
made  in  the  country;  and  in  1899  the  eleven  works  in  this  district 
produced  y2.y  per  cent,  of  the  total.  The  figures  of  1901  show 
that  out  of  the  12,711,225  barrels  total,  the  Lehigh  district  pro- 
duced 8,595,340  barrels.  This  district  includes  three  works  in 
New  Jersey,  and  in  Pennsylvania  are  the  Northampton,  Phoenix, 
Dexter,  Nazareth,  Atlas,  Lawrence,  Reading,  Bonneville,  White- 
hall, Hercules,  Coplay,  Lehigh,  Martin's  Creek,  and  American 
Cement  companies.  Most  of  these  companies  have  more  than  one 
plant.  Outside  of  this  district,  and  still  in  Pennsylvania,  are  the 
Clinton  Cement  Works,  near  Pittsburg,  where  slag  cement  is 
made,  and  the  Crescent  Cement  Company,  at  Wampum,  where 
Portland  cement  is  made  from  limestone  and  clay.^ 

AGRICULTURE 

If  we  take  into  consideration  the  geological  formation  and 
distribution,  the  general  topography  of  Pennsylvania  with  its 
necessarily  large  area  of  mountainous  and  uncultivated  lands, 
with  the  character  of  the  soil  in  some  limited  districts,  the  State 
ranks  high  as  a  productive  agricultural  region.  The  character 
of  the  outcropping  and  underlying  rocks  in  any  given  area  and 
the  influences  arising  from  their  decomposition  have  an  important 

'The  information  upon  which  the  foregoing        report  to  the  Bureau  of  Industrial  Statistics 
account  of   the  cement   industry  in  Pennsyl-        by  Robert  W.  Lesley,  of  Philadelphia. 
v!s    p  repaniaisared  drawn  from  the  very  able 

361 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

bearing  upon  the  soil  and  its  productiveness.  The  geological 
formation  in  Pennsylvania  includes  three  principal  divisions  of 
rocks.  I.  The  Azoic  and  the  Eozoic  in  the  southeastern  part, 
across  which  lies  (2)  the  Mesozoic  (the  new  red)  in  a  belt  twenty 
to  thirty  miles  wide,  extending  from  New  Jersey  into  Maryland. 
3.  The  Paleozoic  series  from  the  Potsdam  sandstone  to  the  coal 
measures,  occupying  the  remainder  of  the  State.  The  tertiary 
and  upper  secondary  series  do  not  extend  across  the  Delaware 
river  from  the  eastern  side.  A  drift  formation  of  sand  and  gravel 
covers  the  northern  and  northwestern  counties,  thinning  away 
before  the  New  York  line  is  reached,  except  where  it  shows  down 
the  Delaware  valley  in  the  east  and  on  the  branches  of  the  Ohio 
in  the  west.  Along  the  middle  of  the  northern  bounds  of  the 
State  the  height  of  the  table  land  probably  prevented  the  forma- 
tion of  this  deposit,  while  the  valley  beds  and  the  lower  hills  of 
the  northwestern  counties  are  heavily  covered  with  it. 

The  gneissic  rocks  are  limited  to  the  southeastern  counties, 
occupying  a  margin  of  varying  width  along  the  Delaware  below 
Trenton,  at  Philadelphia  reaching  up  the  Schuylkill  about  ten 
miles,  and  displaced  on  the  northwest  by  a  narrow  belt  of  par- 
tially metamorphosed  lower  Silurian  limestone,  which  separates 
it  from  the  red  sandstone.  This  contains  quarries  of  the  white 
marble  which  has  been  so  extensively  used  in  Philadelphia  and 
elsewhere  for  building  and  other  purposes.  Gneiss  is  spread  over 
the  north  part  of  Chester  county,  and  the  Laurentian  gneiss  is 
believed  to  form  the  body  of  the  Reading  and  Easton  hill,  and 
of  the  South  mountain  west  of  Harrisburg.  Southwest  from 
Philadelphia  gneiss  continues  around  the  border  of  the  State, 
the  edge  of  the  formation  north  of  Maryland  coming  to  a  point 
south  of  Gettysburg  in  Adams  county. 

Across  this  gneiss  region  extend  tracts  of  Serpentine  rocks, 
forming  the  so-called  "Serpentine  barrens."  In  these  rocks  is 
found  chrome  iron  ore,  which  has  been  profitably  taken  out  at 
different  points.     The  Lower  Silurian  formations  contain  great 

362 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

deposits  of  hematite  iron  ore,  which  have  been  extensively  worked. 
The  northern  edge  of  the  New  Red  sandstone  ranges  across  the 
Delaware  below  Durham,  passes  westward  across  the  Schuyl- 
kill just  below  Reading  and  the  Susquehanna  five  miles  below 
Harrisburg,  inclining  thence  southward,  and  passes  out  of  the 
State,  keeping  at  the  foot  of  South  mountain  on  the  Blue  Ridge. 
The  southern  edge  enters  the  State  opposite  Trenton  and  follows 
a  general  west  course,  passing  the  Schuylkill  two  miles  below 
Norristown,  the  Susquehanna  in  the  western  corner  of  Lancaster 
county,  and  the  State  line  in  Adams  county.  This  tract  is  almost 
exclusively  occupied  by  the  red  sandstones,  red  shales  and  con- 
glomerates of  the  formation,  and  by  numerous  dykes  of  trap  rock. 
The  sandstones  are  quarried  and  supply  good  building  material 
in  several  localities. 

The  lower  members  of  the  Paleozoic  series  lie  on  the  north- 
west flank  and  foot  of  South  mountain,  beneath  the  magnesian 
Lower  Silurian  limestones  of  the  Kittanning  valley ;  these  fill  the 
broad  valley  between  the  Kittanning  and  the  Blue  mountains  on 
the  one  side,  and  South  mountain  on  the  other.  Their  range  is 
marked  by  great  fertility  of  soil  and  the  finest  agricultural  region 
in  the  State  is  in  this  great  valley,  occupying  the  greater  part  of 
Northampton,  Lehigh,  Berks,  Lebanon,  Dauphin,  Cumberland, 
and  Franklin  counties.  The  northern  half  of  the  valley  is  occu- 
pied by  the  Utica  and  Hudson  river  Lower  Silurian  slate,  from 
which  have  been  taken  large  quantities  of  roofing  and  other  slate 
products. 

Beyond  towards  the  northwest  ranges  the  central  belt  of  Upper 
Silurian  and  Devonian  mountains  and  valleys,  as  far  as  the  main 
Alleghanies — a  region  famous  for  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of 
its  natural  scenery,  but  not  well  adapted  to  general  agriculture. 
At  the  main  Alleghanies  the  scene  changes.  As  one  passes  west- 
ward he  descends  between  and  over  innumerable  rounded  knobs 
and  short  ridges,  around  the  sides  of  which  outcrops  the  bitu- 
minous coal  beds.     The  highest  points  of  the  Alleghanies  are 

363 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

capped  with  the  Conglomerate  which  underhes  the  bituminous 
coal  formation,  or  by  the  lower  members  of  the  series,  the  strata 
dipping  gently  towards  the  west,  and  the  formation  increases  in 
thickness  in  that  direction  and  overspreads  the  whole  western  part 
of  the  State,  excepting  the  northwest  corner. 

Topographically,  in  general  terms,  the  surface  of  the  State  is 
level  in  the  southeastern  part;  hilly  and  mountainous  in  the  in- 
terior, and  rolling  and  broken  in  the  western  part.  The  surface 
of  the  southeastern  part  is  only  slightly  elevated  above  sea  level ; 
farther  westward  and  northward  appear  a  series  of  parallel  ridges 
1,500  to  2,500  feet  in  height,  extending  in  a  curving  belt  across 
the  State  from  northeast  to  southwest,  and  from  fifty  to  eighty 
miles  in  width.  The  first  one  of  these  ridges  on  the  southeast 
is  South  mountain,  which  is  a  prolongation  of  the  Blue  Ridge  of 
Virginia ;  the  last  one  on  the  west  is  the  Alleghany  range,  which 
is  the  highest.  From  this  range  the  surface  slopes  gradually 
towards  the  western  State  line.  The  Susquehanna  river  flows 
across  the  State  in  a  general  southern  direction,  drains  a  large 
part  of  these  highlands  and  cutting  in  its  passage  many  deep  and 
tortuous  canyons,  collecting  in  a  central  valley  and  plain  which 
separates  the  anthracite  region  on  the  east  from  the  Devonian 
and  Silurian  mountains  on  the  west,  through  which  flows  the 
Juniata.  West  of  the  Alleghany  mountain  backbone  are  three 
ridges  about  2,500  feet  in  height,  which  pass  out  of  the  State  into 
Maryland  and  Virginia.  Generally  speaking,  the  ridges  east  of 
the  Alleghanies  are  too  steep  to  be  successfully  cultivated,  but 
the  western  slope  is  mostly  arable  even  at  high  elevations.  Pro- 
ductive valleys  correspond  to  the  general  trend  of  the  ridges,  the 
principal  one  being  Chester  in  the  southeast  part ;  Lebanon  in  the 
east ;  Wyoming  in  the  northeast ;  Penn's  and  Juniata  in  the  center ; 
Cumberland  in  the  south,  and  Monongahela  in  the  southwest. 

Generally  speaking,  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  is  rich ;  this  is 
especially  true  of  the  limestone  region  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State,  as  well  as  in  some  of  the  counties  on  the  Ohio  river  in  the 

364 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

western  part,  which  are  underlaid  with  the  same  rock.  The  hme- 
stone  areas  are  well  adapted  to  grain  raising,  as  also  are  the 
mountain  valleys  of  the  interior.  In  the  northern  part  of  the 
State  good  grazing  soils  predominate,  especial  productiveness 
rewarding  the  farmer  on  the  upper  Susquehanna  in  the  northeast 
part.  On  the  highlands  of  the  central  northern  counties  the  soil 
is  thin  and  cold,  but  proceeding  westward  and  into  the  north- 
western part,  better  agricultural  conditions  prevail.  The  whole 
of  the  western  border  of  the  State,  like  the  Ohio  valley  generally, 
is  alike  well  adapted  to  grain  raising  and  grazing.  These  latter 
soils  are  indicated  by  the  character  of  the  forest  that  formerly 
covered  them.  As  will  be  seen  in  figures  in  later  pages  of  this 
chapter,  corn  has  during  the  past  century  been  a  great  product 
between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Delaware  river;  wheat  and  rye 
have  always  been  extensively  produced  in  all  the  valleys  of  the 
State;  tobacco  during  many  years  has  been  a  large  and  profitable 
product  in  Lancaster  and  a  few  other  counties.  Orchard  fruits 
of  all  kinds  adapted  to  the  climate,  grapes  and  other  small  fruits 
in  some  districts  have  all  added  to  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of 
the  agricultural  population. 

The  climate  of  Pennsylvania  is  widely  varied,  influencing  in 
a  corresponding  degree  the  agricultural  conditions.  In  the  south- 
ern and  eastern  parts  the  summers  are  hot  and  the  winters  reason- 
ably temperate.  On  the  Alleghany  highlands  and  the  central 
and  northern  uplands  the  winters  are  very  severe,  and  in  some 
localities  there  is  seldom  a  month  in  the  year  without  frost.  It 
has  been  said  of  the  wide  and  deep  valleys  of  the  Susquehanna 
that  the  climate  and  other  conditions  are  such  that  they  might  be 
made  "a  continuous  vineyard  rivalling  those  of  the  Rhine  and  the 
Rhone."  Until  the  middle  of  the  last  century  Pennsylvania  was 
pre-eminently  a  great  and  rich  agricultural  Commonwealth. 
From  that  time  forward,  the  construction  of  numerous  rjiilroads 
and  other  transportation  facilities  gave  a  powerful  impetus  to  a 
great  variety  of  other  interests. 

365 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

As  early  as  1682,  according  to  statements  of  the  founder  of 
the  colony,  provisions  were  plentiful.  In  addition  to  such  prod- 
ucts of  the  soil  as  could  then  be  obtained,  the  Swedes  and  the 
Indians  brought  to  the  settlement  large  quantities  of  game.  Deer 
were  sold  at  2s.  each  and  corn  sold  for  2s.  6d.  Horse  mills  were 
in  use  for  grinding  corn.  An  early  settler  wrote,  "We  have 
peaches  by  cart  loads."  Penn  wrote  in  1683  to  the  Society  of 
Traders,  of  the  agricultural  products  of  his  colony  as  being  wheat, 
barley,  oats,  rye,  peas,  beans,  squashes,  pumpkins,  and  melons, 
"and  all  roots  and  herbs  that  English  gardens  supply."  In  1718 
he  wrote  of  his  possessions  that  "God  has  made  of  a  desert  an 
enclosed  garden  and  the  plantations  about  it  a  fruitful  field." 

In  1752  Franklin  recorded  that  10,000  hogsheads  of  flax  seed 
were  exported  from  Philadelphia,  and  the  flax  product  all  made 
into  coarse  linen  in  the  settlers'  homes.  A  map  of  that  year  gives 
the  product  in  flour  as  125,960  barrels.  In  1765  there  was  ex- 
ported from  Philadelphia  367,522  bushels  of  wheat  and  148,887 
barrels  of  flour,  with  over  60,000  bushels  of  corn. 

The  progress  of  agriculture  in  Pennsylvania,  as  in  all  other 
new  settlements,  was  slow  during  many  years  after  the  arrival 
of  the  first  pioneers.  There  were  many  causes  contributing  to 
this  result.  The  early  settlers  found  only  a  wilderness  in  which 
to  lay  their  hearthstones  and  build  their  primitive  homes.  Al- 
though the  forests  were  in  many  localities  largely  cleared  of  un- 
dergrowth, due  to  the  Indian  custom  of  frequently  burning  it  out, 
still  the  clearing  of  the  land  to  fit  it  for  cultivation,  even  of  the 
rudest  sort,  required  time  and  arduous  toil.  Soon  the  settlers, 
notwithstanding  Penn's  humanitarian  policy,  began  to  suffer  from 
Indian  depredations,  the  terror  from  which,  added  to  actual  de- 
struction, served  to  greatly  retard  settlement  and  pioneer  work 
in  the  interior.  Wild  beasts,  too,  had  their  influence  in  this  direc- 
tion, an  influence  that  was,  however,  more  than  offset,  perhaps, 
by  their  great  value  in  adding  to  the  food  supply.  Seeds  and 
shrubs   for   planting  were   frequently   difficult   to   obtain.     The 

366 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 


character  of  the  soil  in  different  locahties  was  not  understood, 
causing  loss  where  there  might  have  been  great  gain.  Tools 
were  scarce  and  crude  of  construction.  If  brought  from  England 
they  were  often  beyond  the  purses  of  those  who  felt  their  need. 
When  better  tools  and  the  early  machinery  were  available,  many 
settlers  were  averse  to  their  adoption.  While  German  and 
Swedish   settlers   were   industrious   and   persevering,   they   long 


Central  Part  of  Washington 

From   Day's   Historical    Collections 

clung  to  prejudice  against  innovations.  The  adoption  of  im- 
proved tools  and  methods  has  always  met  with  more  or  less  oppo- 
sition in  all  countries,  but  with  less,  perhaps,  in  the  United  States 
than  elsewhere.  Laborers  in  some  parts  of  enlightened  England 
destroyed  agricultural  machinery  as  late  as  1830.  Wooden  plows 
were  the  dependence  of  the  Pennsylvania  farmers  until  about  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century.  There  was  little  attempt  made 
towards  improvement  in  agricultural  methods  until  after  the 
Revolutionary  war.  Enlightened  men  then  began  to  appreciate 
the  value  of  fertilizing,  rotation  of  crops,  the  adoption  of  better 
tools,  and  the  ultimate  danger  of  exhaustion  of  soil.  This  senti- 
ment led  in  1784  to  the  formation  of  the  Society  for  the  Improve- 
ment of  Agriculture,  in  Philadelphia ;  this  was  the  same  year  that 

367 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

saw  the  establishment  of  a  similar  organization  in  South  Caro- 
lina, to  be  followed  by  one  in  New  York  in  1791  and  one  in 
Massachusetts  in  1792.  But  even  under  such  impetus  as  was 
felt  under  the  work  of  this  early  society,  progress  was  slow  for 
many  years,  excepting  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Philadelphia. 
Reading  matter  on  agricultural  subjects  was  scarce  and  what 
there  was  attracted  little  attention  from  the  average  farmer  of  the 
period.  Manuring  was  ridiculed  in  Chester  county  down  to  near 
the  Revolutionary  period  and  there  was  very  little  lime  used  be- 
fore that  time — a  fertilizer  that  became  in  later  years  of  great 
importance  to  the  State.  The  early  settlers  placed  little  confi- 
dence in  what  they  termed  "book  farming,"  a  sentiment  that 
remained  to  some  extent  to  years  within  the  memory  of  living 
persons.  Stock  on  farms  continued,  partly  through  necessity 
perhaps,  to  be  poorly-housed  in  winter  and  inadequately  fed. 
Meadow  production  was  confined  almost  wholly  to  natural  grass 
growth;  there  was  little  clover  before  the  Revolution,  and  no 
timothy.  The  introduction  of  the  horse  rake,  and  later  of  the 
thresher  and  the  mowing  machine  was  a  slow  process. 

But  in  the  course  of  time  all  of  these  untoward  conditions 
passed  away.  The  society  before  named  continued  its  beneficent 
work  in  spreading  intelligence  and  encouragement.  A  meeting 
of  the  members  was  held  February  7,  1786  (the  second  year  of 
its  existence),  in  Carpenters'  Hall,  Philadelphia,  with  eighteen 
persons  present.  It  was  there  agreed  to  present  a  gold  medal  to 
Colonel  George  Morgan  of  New  Jersey,  for  "having  the  best 
farm  yard  the  society  has  information  of."  This  was  the  first 
medal  presented  by  the  society,  and  it  seems  they  had  to  go  over 
into  the  neighboring  State  to  find  a  worthy  recipient.  On  No- 
vember 7  of  that  year  another  meeting  was  held,  at  which  "was 
exhibited  a  drill  plough  just  from  England  that  cost  £19."  As 
new  counties  were  formed  other  agricultural  societies  were  organ- 
ized in  other  parts  of  the  State,  stimulating  farmers  by  offering 
premiums  upon  their  products,  and  creating  more  earnest  effort 

368 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

towards  improvement  in  all  directions.  Agricultural  literature, 
in  the  form  of  newspapers,  periodicals,  and  books  gradually  came 
within  the  reach  of  all,  and  the  more  progressive  men  in  every 
community  studied  and  bettered  their  condition  in  the  ratio  that 
they  adopted  improvements. 

Penn's  petition  of  1680  asked  for  land  within  certain  limits 
in  some  directions,  but  wanted  it  "to  extend  northward  as  far  as 
plantable."  If  this  seems  like  a  rather  extravagant  demand,  and 
if  Penn  under  his  treaties  with  the  Indians  obtained  a  magnificent 
domain,  he,  on  the  other  hand,  sold  his  lands  for  low  prices  and 
adopted  a  policy  in  general  that  was  most  encouraging  to  immi- 
gration and  his  colony  flourished  from  the  first.  Lands  obtained 
under  the  treaty  of  1768  were  offered  at  £5  per  100  acres,  with  one 
penny  per  annum  quit  rent.  Some  of  the  rich  coal  lands  of  the 
State  were  sold  at  this  price.  Partly  in  consequence  of  these 
favorable  terms,  most  of  the  very  early  farms  were  large  in  area, 
many  of  them  including  500  acres  or  more.  Germans,  Swedes, 
Scotch-Irish,  and  immigrants  from  other  European  countries,  as 
well  as  from  England,  hastened  over  to  take  advantage  of  the  low 
prices  of  the  rich  lands  of  eastern  Pennsylvania.  Before  the 
lapse  of  half  a  century  after  settlement  began,  agriculture  was  a 
prosperous  industry  in  eastern  Pennsylvania,  notwithstanding  all 
of  the  untoward  conditions  that  have  been  described ;  and  in  the 
western  parts  of  the  State  where  the  land  w^as  best  adapted  to 
tillage,  nothing  prevented  a  corresponding  degree  of  prosperity 
except  the  difficulties  attending  transportation  of  grain  and  other 
products. 

So  great  was  the  influx  of  immigrants  from  the  distracted 
sections  of  Europe  that  the  colony  was  alarmed  at  the  prospect, 
and  even  in  England  fears  were  expressed  that  Pennsylvania 
would  become  a  colony  of  foreigners.  The  German  element, 
thrifty  and  industrious  as  they  were,  did  not  escape  the  feeling  of 
jealousy  that  existed  in  1720  and  during  some  years  later  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  matter  received  the  attention  of  the  Assembly. 

3-24  369 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

The  cereal  crops  that  were  produced  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State  from  the  beginning  down  to  1800  were,  as  a  rule,  large  and 
profitable.  It  is  recorded,  for  example,  that  "the  years  1751  and 
1752  have  been  so  fruitful  in  wheat  and  other  grain  that  men  in 
wanton  carelessness  sought  to  waste  the  supply;  for  the  precious 
wheat,  which  might  have  supplied  many  poor,  they  used  to  fatten 
hogs,  which  afterwards  they  consumed  in  their  sumptuousness. 
Besides,  distilleries  were  erected  everywhere,  and  thus  the  great 
blessing  was  turned  into  strong  drink,  which  gave  rise  to  much 
disorder."  (German  Chron.  Ephrat.,  190.)  In  all  tillable  parts 
of  the  State  in  early  years  distilleries  were  numerous ;  they  offered 
about  the  only  method  of  disposing  of  surplus  grains  that  insured 
any  adequate  return. 

The  years  of  plenty  just  mentioned  were  followed  by  a  period 
of  scarcity.  Indian  depredations  in  1755-6,  and  again  in  1763, 
partially  paralyzed  agriculture;  many  families  were  driven  from 
their  homes,  and  large  fields  of  crops  were  neglected  or  destroyed. 
During  the  period  of  the  old  French  and  Indian  wars  Pennsyl- 
vania supplied  a  large  part  of  the  subsistence  for  General  Brad- 
dock's  troops  and  the  Virginia  riflemen,  and  by  1776  the  State 
had  become  second  in  agriculture  and  commercial  wealth,  with  a 
population  of  380,000. 

Progress  towards  the  western  part  of  the  State  was  slow,  as 
far  as  applies  to  agricultural  operations.  It  was  fifty  years  after 
the  first  settlement  before  pioneers  were  dwelling  on  the  banks 
of  the  Susquehanna,  a  hundred  miles  in  the  interior.  As  early 
as  1690,  Penn  had  contemplated  the  founding  of  another  great 
city  on  this  river.  In  his  letter  proposing  this  enterprise  he  men- 
tioned "the  known  goodness  of  the  soyll  and  scituation  of  the 
land,  which  is  high  and  not  mountainous."  Reports  of  product- 
ive soil  and  land  that  could  be  had  farther  west  for  almost  nothing 
were,  as  they  always  have  been,  sufficient  inducement  to  attract 
the  hardy  and  adventurous  pioneer  into  new  regions,  even  in  the 
face  of  danger  and  deprivation.     The  thrifty  Scotch-Irish  immi- 

370 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

grants  pushed  on  into  the  regions  of  the  Susquehanna  and  the 
Juniata  and  laid  the  foundations  of  later  prosperity,  while  con- 
siderable progress  was  made  upon  the  arable  lands  in  the  Pitts- 
burg region  and  along  the  streams  of  the  remote  western  part. 
Some  light  is  thrown  upon  the  conditions  in  this  section  of  the 
State  by  the  records.  In  1785,  soon  after  the  Indian  title  to  lands 
in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  State  was  extinguished,  explorers 
and  surveyors  were  sent  out  by  the  Supreme  Executive  Council 
to  survey  lands  which  were  to  be  donated  to  the  troops  of  the 
Pennsylvania  line  in  the  army.  Among  these  explorers  was  Gen- 
eral William  Irvine,  from  whose  report  we  quote.  He  said  he 
"began  about  four  miles  from  Fort  Pitt,  east  of  which  for  five  or 
six  miles  the  land  is  pretty  level,  well  watered  with  small  springs 
and  of  tolerable  quality ;  but  from  thence  to  the  Allegheny  river, 
which  is  about  twenty-five  miles  due  east,  there  is  no  land  worth 
mentioning  fit  for  cultivation ;  all  between  the  Venango  Path  and 
the  Allegheny  there  is  very  little  land  fit  for  cultivation,  as  it  is 
a  continued  chain  of  high  barren  mountains,  except  small  breaches 
for  Creeks  and  Rivulets  to  disembogue  themselves  into  the  River." 
He  proceeded  eastward  and  wrote:  "From  Flat  Rock  to  Sandy 
Creek  by  Hutchins  &  Snell,  called  Lycomie,  is  about  twenty-four 
miles;  on  the  first  twelve  there  are  a  considerable  quantity  of 
tolerable  level  land,  though  much  broken  with  large  stony  flats." 
This  was  all  heavily  timbered.  From  Sandy  Creek  to  French 
Creek,  seven- or  eight  miles,  he  reported  "no  part  is  by  any  means 
fit  for  cultivation."  He  traveled  over  about  150  miles  in  locating 
these  so-called  "donation  lands,"  a  large  part  of  which  he  reported 
as  unfit  for  cultivation.  The  present  condition  of  many  parts  of 
that  region  must  greatly  modify  these  statements. 

In  1799  Thomas  Hill  made  a  horseback  journey  from  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.,  to  Lycoming  county,  in  the  record  of  which  are 
found  a  few  glimpses  of  agricultural  conditions  at  the  close  of 
that  century.  In  Raritan  county  he  reported  the  grass  production 
as  good,  and  the  average  of  crops  (cereals)  as  twenty  bushels  to 

371 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

the  acre  on  the  east  side  and  twelve  bushels  on  the  west  side.  At 
Phillipsburg  and  East  Town  (Easton)  he  found  limestone  land 
"very  indifferent,"  with  an  average  product  of  twelve  bushels,  to 
which  he  added,  "red  clover  and  pretty  good  lots."  Hay,  he  said, 
averaged  one  and  a  half  tons.  On  a  part  of  his  journey  he  reported 
finding  the  settlers  "all  Germans ; — the  most  early  rising,  hard 
working  people  I  ever  saw."  On  his  third  day  of  travel  he  re- 
corded :  "This  country  has  been  settled  with  Germans  about  fifty 
years.  I  hope  to  be  soon  through  with  them."  He  complained 
of  the  food  they  gave  him,  which  doubtless  accounts  for  his  desire 
to  "be  soon  through  with  them."  He  found  no  crops  "equal  to 
the  Raritan"  (valley).  The  Northumberland  region  he  reported 
as  only  fairly  good.  After  crossing  the  Alleghanies  the  bottom 
lands,  according  to  the  traveler's  statement,  were  rich  and  pro- 
ductive, and  "covered  with  immense  white  pines,  sugar  maple, 
beech  and  birch."  He  speaks  of  John  Hill's,  on  the  "south  side 
of  Loyalsock,"  and  adds,  "For  six  miles  from  this  spot,  that  is, 
three  each  way,  there  cannot  well  be  more  than  seven  farmers,  a 
miller,  and  blacksmith,  say  nine."  This  indicates  the  progress 
that  settlement  had  made  in  that  region  a  century  ago.  He 
thought  there  would  never  be  sufficient  settlement  there  "to  sup- 
port a  school  teacher."      (See  Pa.  Mag.,  vol.  xiv.,  pp.  189-98.) 

The  war  of  the  Revolution  seriously  interfered  with  agricul- 
tural operations  in  all  of  the  colonies.  In  1779  there  was  a  real 
scarcity  of  food  products  in  Pennsylvania;  prices  of  all  grains 
were  very  high,  and  the  currency,  depreciated  almost  to  worth- 
lessness  as  a  purchasing  medium,  gave  little  relief  to  the  people 
if  they  had  it  at  hand.  After  the  close  of  the  great  conflict  the 
change  in  these  conditions  was  rapid  and  gratifying.  In  1790  the 
population  of  the  State  had  reached  434,370,  and  there  were  scat- 
tered settlements  in  nearly  all  of  the  remotest  parts  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. The  western  section  was  attracting  more  and  more 
attention  as  desirable  for  agriculture.  Washington,  Allegheny, 
Beaver,  Fayette,  and  Indiana  counties  were  reported  as  particu- 

372 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

larly  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  cereals,  while  in  Mercer,  Craw- 
ford, and  some  other  counties  were  found  superior  grazing  lands. 
The  Juniata  valley  had  become  celebrated  for  its  wheat  produc- 
tion. It  is  recorded  that  one  farmer  in  one  season  had  a  crop  of 
i,ooo  bushels.  In  1790  it  is  said  that  150,000  bushels  of  wheat 
were  brought  down  the  Susquehanna,  passing  through  Middle- 
town  for  Philadelphia,  a  large  part  of  wdiich  was  grown  in  the 
Juniata  valley.  At  that  time  flour  was  being  shipped  up  the 
Suscjuehanna  for  Northumberland  settlers.  All  waterways  were 
used  for  transportation  purposes  where  possible,  in  early  times, 
for  the  roads  were  bad  and  during  part  of  every  year  were  prac- 
tically impassable  for  heavy  loads.  Freightage  by  team  was  con- 
sequently very  costly,  a  fact  that  for  many  years  was  a  great  ob- 
stacle in  the  way  of  agricultural  progress  in  the  western  part  of 
the  State.  In  1794  wagon  freight  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg 
was  from  $5  to  $10  per  100  pounds,  a  rate  that  was  almost  pro- 
hibitive on  many  commodities.  Salt  then  sold  in  Pittsburg  for 
$5  per  bushel.  Freight  on  a  barrel  of  flour  from  Pittsburg  to 
Philadelphia  was  nearly  as  much  as  the  value  of  the  flour.  This 
product  could  not  be  shipped  north  from  that  point  in  very  early 
years,  for  fear  of  Indian  depredation,  although  it  was  many  times 
attempted.  Some  flour  w'as  sent  southward  by  water,  a  farmer 
building  his  own  ark,  which  he  loaded  with  his  own  product  and 
that  of  some  of  his  neighbors  and  floated  it  down  to  New  Orleans. 
Wheat  was  so  plentiful  in  western  Pennsylvania  and  the  market 
so  poor,  that  it  was  customary  to  feed  it  to  cattle,  while  rye,  corn, 
and  barley  had  almost  no  value  whatever  as  food  for  man  or  beast. 
These  conditions  were  what  led  to  the  building  of  the  scores  of 
small  distilleries  of  early  times.  The  later  construction  of  canals 
and  railroads  equalized  all  of  these  disadvantages  with  the  advan- 
tages of  more  fortunately  situated  sections. 

With  the  opening  of  the  last  century  the  population  of  Penn- 
sylvania reached  602,365,  a  gain  of  nearly  170,000  on  the  preced- 
ing decade.     The  efforts  of  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of 

373 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

Agriculture,  before  mentioned,  and  those  of  the  other  early  organ- 
izations of  this  and  other  States,  had  taught  the  farmers  many 
salutary  lessons  in  the  details  of  their  occupation  and  also  had  in- 
culcated among  them  a  sentiment  of  self-reliance  which  was  of 
great  benefit  to  them  during  the  blockade  period  preceding  the 
war  of  1812,  which  latter  did  not  seriously  affect  their  interests. 

In  1 8 10  the  population  of  the  State  was  810,091.  In  that  year 
it  is  recorded  that  there  were  ground  in  Pennsylvania  mills 
4,024,640  bushels  of  wheat,  besides  which  there  were  large  ship- 
ments of  the  unground  grain  to  other  sections.  In  1809  the  Lan- 
caster county  millers  produced  99,000  barrels  of  flour,  and  North- 
umberland, 160  miles  north  of  Philadelphia,  produced  105,000 
barrels;  it  should,  however,  be r remembered  that  those  counties 
were  larger  then  than  at  the  present  time. 

The  war  of  18 12  somewhat  checked  immigration,  as  well  as 
all  material  interests,  but  in  1820  the  population  had  increased  to 
1,047,507,  and  the  farmers  of  the  State  had  begun  to  profit  by  the 
improved  facilities  for  reaching  markets  with  their  products. 
Fertilizers  were  rapidly  coming  into  use  and  limestone  had  begim 
to  be  quarried  in  Lancaster  county  and  burned  into  lime  to  spread 
upon  land.  In  later  years  every  farm  in  that  section  showed  the 
effects  of  this  fertilizer.  Orchards  and  nurseries  were  numerous 
in  the  older  settled  parts  and  fruits  were  plentiful.  As  early  as 
1 80 1  Robert  Caldwell  advertised  in  the  "Northumberland  Ga- 
zette" that  he  had  a  "nursery  of  young  apple  trees  now  fit  for 
planting  out,  of  excellent  kinds;"  his  price  was  6d.  each  for  three- 
year-old  trees. 

In  1830  the  State  population  was  1,348,233,  a  gain  of  301,726 
in  ten  years.  Farm  products  of  all  kinds  increased  in  like  ratio 
and  the  whole  State  was  on  a  high  tide  of  prosperity.  Even  the 
memorable  financial  troubles  of  1837-40,  which  were  so  disastrous 
in  many  parts  of  the  country,  retarded  the  production  of  cereals 
and  the  increase  of  population  in  this  State  but  little.  It  is  re- 
corded of  the  decade  from   1830  to  1840  that  "every  material 

374 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

interest  of  the  State  was  thoroughly  developed  as  far  as  it  was  in 
the  power  of  the  people  and  the  State  government  to  do  so.  (Re- 
port of  Internal  Affairs,  1874-5,  p.  41,  part  III.) 

In  1840  there  were  nearly  9,000,000  acres  of  land  under  a  fair 
state  of  cultivation.  The  succeeding  decade  to  1850  saw  contin- 
ued advancement  in  all  agricultural  conditions.  In  the  year  just 
named  there  were  in  the  State  127,577  farms  averaging  117  acres 
each.  The  production  of  corn  reached  19,835,214  bushels.  To- 
bacco was  becoming  an  important  product,  nearly  1,000,000  pounds 


Western  Entrance  to  York,  Pennsylvania 

From  Day's  Historical   Collections 

being  grown;  this  quantity  had  increased  to  3,181,586  pounds  in 
i860.  A  large  part  of  this  came  from  Lancaster  county,  but  after 
i860  the  industry  spread  to  York,  Berks,  and  Cumberland  coun- 
ties. In  i860  there  were  10,463,296  acres  of  land  under  cultiva- 
tion in  the  State,  nearly  one-half  the  acreage  of  the  whole  State. 
There  were  then  156,000  farmers,  who  produced  of  wheat 
13,042,165  bushels;  28,196,821  of  corn;  530,714  of  barley; 
2,245,413  tons  of  hay;  58,653,511  pounds  of  butter;  2,508,556 
pounds  of  cheese,  and  4,752,522  pounds  of  wool. 

The  period  of  the  great  Civil  war  was  at  hand,  which  was  to 
create  a  revolution  in  every  department  of  industry.  Pennsyl- 
vania sent  to  the  war  not  less  than  100,000  men  from  its  agricul- 
tural element.  Laborers  became  scarce  and  many  farms  were  left 
in  the  care  of  agents.     Prices  of  all  kinds  of  land  produce  rose 


375 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

rapidly,  and  farm  hands  demanded  from  $3.50  to  $4.00  per  day 
in  harvest  time  and  $35  to  $40  per  month  by  the  year.  Mean- 
while a  meeting  was  held  in  185 1  and  steps  were  taken  towards 
organizing  a  State  Agricultural  Society.  The  purpose  was  ef- 
fected through  action  of  the  State  legislature  in  the  same  year,  and 
the  first  fair  was  held  at  Harrisburg  in  October. 

The  increase  in  cultivated  acreage  from  i860  to  1870  was 
1,052,669  acres  and  the  population  rose  to  3,521,951.  At  the 
close  of  the  decade  ( 1869)  the  production  of  wheat  was  3,899,967 
bushels;  oats,  36,478,585  bushels;  corn,  34,702,006  bushels;  rye, 
3,557,641  bushels;  barley,  529,562  bushels;  buckwheat,  2,532,173 
bushels ;  potatoes,  12,889,367  bushels;  hay,  2,848,219  tons;  but- 
ter, 60,834,641  pounds;  cheese,  1,045,209  pounds;  wool,  6,561,723 
pounds;  tobacco,  3,467,539  pounds.  The  State  College,  opened 
in  1859,  was  contributing  effectively  to  the  prosperity  of  the  agri- 
cultural interests,  as  noticed  a  little  further  on.  The  decade  clos- 
ing with  1880  showed  a  gain  in  the  aggregate  cultivated  acreage 
from  5,980,000  acres  to  6,354,750  acres.  The  production  of 
wheat  for  1880  was  21,750,000  bushels  on  an  acreage  of  1,261,500; 
corn,  43,750,000  bushels,  acreage  1,261,500;  oats,  32,250,000 
bushels,  acreage  1,156,000;  potatoes,  9,125,000,  acreage  151,750; 
buckwheat,  2,812,000,  acreage  172,250;  hay,  2,450,000  tons, 
acreage  2,550,000;  tobacco,  38,750,000  pounds,  acreage  26,670; 
(of  this  latter  product,  Lancaster  county  produced  16,000,000 
pounds).  From  1871  to  1880  the  number  of  horses  in  the  State 
increased  from  546,100  to  616,750,  and  the  number  of  cows  from 
788,900  to  851,750. 

Meanwhile,  in  1876,  steps  were  taken  for  the  organization  of 
the  existing  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  a  department  that  has 
since  been  of  inestimable  value  to  the  farmer,  A  bill  was  read  in 
the  legislature  on  January  24  of  the  year  named  "to  establish  a 
State  Board  of  Agriculture,"  which,  with  some  amendment,  was 
passed  in  the  following  April.  The  board  comprised  five  ex- 
officio  members,  headed  by  the  Governor;  six  members  to  be  ap- 

376 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

pointed  by  the  Governor,  and  twenty-six  members  to  be  elected 
by  the  county  agricultural  societies  throughout  the  State.  The 
report  of  the  secretary  for  the  first  year  is  of  deep  interest  to  all 
persons  interested  in  the  agriculture  of  the  Commonwealth  and 
may  be  referred  to  for  details.  He  said  that  there  were  then  only 
five  States  in  the  Union  where  agriculture  was  so  diversified  as  in 
Pennsylvania.  With  a  large  city  at  either  end  of  the  State  and  a 
great  manufacturing  district  between  them,  the  farmers  find  a 
ready  market  for  all  their  products.  The  average  size  of  farms 
at  that  time  was  a  little  over  loo  acres.  Most  of  the  farms  were 
owned  by  their  occupants.  In  the  eastern  and  southern  parts 
most  of  the  grain,  excepting  wheat,  was  being  fed  on  the  farms. 
Along  the  railroads  from  forty  to  fifty  miles  from  Philadelphia, 
milk  was  the  principal  product.  Farther  away  from  the  city  cows 
were  still  numerous  and  highly  fed,  but  butter  took  the  place  of 
milk  as  the  chief  product  of  the  dairy.  Corn  was  an  important 
crop,  but  not  nearly  to  the  extent  or  profit  of  some  of  the  other 
cereals.  The  important  subjects  of  the  promotion  of  forestry, 
horticulture,  botany,  the  value  of  fertilizers,  veterinary  science, 
destructive  insects,  the  raising  of  poultry,  the  beet  sugar  industry, 
adulteration  of  various  commodities,  fish  culture,  improvement  of 
roads,  etc.,  have  received  and  are  receiving  attention  from  this 
department  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  farmer  at  large.  Kindred 
associations  or  institutions  that  now  contribute  to  the  spread  of 
agricultural  knowledge  and  the  promotion  of  reforms  are  the  De- 
partment of  Forestry,  separately  described  in  another  part  of  this 
work;  the  State  Dairymen's  Association;  the  State  Horticultural 
Association,  which  has  been  in  existence  about  forty  years;  the 
local  Farmers'  Institutes,  which  were  inaugurated  by  an  act  of 
1889  and  are  now  held  annually  in  many  parts  of  the  State;  the 
State  Live  Stock  Sanitary  Board,  established  by  an  act  of  1895,  etc. 
Since  the  close  of  the  Civil  war,  and  especially  within  the  last 
fifteen  or  twenty  years,  the  farmers  of  Pennsylvania,  in  common 
with  those  of  most  other  sections  of  the  country,  have  felt  the  de- 

377 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

pressing  effects  of  the  necessary  transition  from  the  abnormally 
high  prices  and  general  expansion  of  the  war  period  to  the  condi- 
tions prevailing  at  the  present  time.  It  has  been  shown  by  in- 
vestigation that  the  value  of  farms  in  this  State  since  1880  has 
diminished  to  the  amount  of  $567,000,000.  The  following  figures 
will  show  the  changes  in  prices  of  several  principal  farm  products 
from  1850  to  1890: 

1850  i860  1870  1880  1890 

Flour    $5.45  $5.65  $4.50  $475  $4-35 

Wheat 1.25  1.32  1.28  1.48  .90 

Corn    61  .74  .85  .62  .42 

Oats 42  .44  .55  .47  .29 

These  figures  are  suggestive,  and,  taken  in  connection  with 
other  well  known  causes,  have  aided  in  producing  the  existing 
feeling  among  a  large  class  of  farmers,  that  the  occupation  is  no 
longer  a  very  desirable  one.  Others  who  are  more  optimistic  as 
to  the  agricultural  future  of  the  State  have  not  despaired  and  hold 
up  to  their  brethren  the  other  side  of  the  picture,  which  relates  to 
the  prices  now  paid  by  the  farmer  for  tools,  clothing  and  food  as 
compared  with  those  of  former  days.  The  report  of  the  State 
Board  of  Agriculture  for  1890  has  a  paper  upon  "Farm  Values," 
in  which  it  is  noted  that  in  1870  a  mowing  machine  cost  $125, 
which  could  be  bought  in  1880  for  $75  to  $90,  while  in  1890  a 
good  single  mower  could  be  bought  for  $45  to  $50.  All  rates  of 
transportation  have  fallen"  as  well  as  those  articles  making  up  the 
needed  supplies  of  the  farmer ;  but  while  these  are  in  a  measure  a 
source  of  encouragement,  the  fact  of  the  great  reduction  in  farm 
values  remains.  As  a  whole,  however,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
as  a  general  agricultural  district,  stands  well  up  towards  the  front 
among  the  Eastern  States,  a  fact  that  can  be  amply  proven  by 
reference  to  current  reports  and  to  the  latest  census  returns. 

The  State  Agricultural  College. — At  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Pennsylvania  State  Agricultural   Society  held  January   18, 

378 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

1853,  3.  report  was  made  on  the  advantages  of  an  agricultural 
school.  The  subject  was  discussed  and  a  resolution  was  finally 
adopted  calling  a  State  convention  of  the  friends  of  agriculture 
to  promote  the  matter.  This  convention  met  in  March,  1853,  ^"^ 
there  a  committee  was  appointed  to  continue  the  undertaking.  In 
accordance  with  recommendations  of  this  committee  made  at  a 
later  date,  an  act  was  approved  by  the  legislature,  April  13,  1854, 
establishing  the  school.     The  institution  was  to  be  placed  under 


Carbondale  Churches  in  1840 


From    an    old    print 


the  general  control  of  a  board  of  trustees  "composed  of  the  presi- 
dents of  the  county  agricultural  societies  and  the  president  and 
vice-president  of  the  State  agricultural  society."  A  second  char- 
ter was  issued  under  date  of  February  22,  1855,  in  which  the 
board  was  constituted  of  thirteen  members,  four  of  whom  were 
ex-ofUcio  officers — the  Governor  of  the  State,  Secretary  of  State, 
President  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society  and  the  Principal  of 
the  college. 

After  much  investigation  the  site  for  the  institution  was 
chosen  in  Centre  county,  very  near  the  geographical  center  of  the 
State,  in  a  locality  noted  for  its  beautiful  scenery,  fertile  soil,  and 
pure  water.  In  May,  1856,  a  contract  was  made  for  the  erection 
of  a  building,  but  the  west  wing  only  was  ready  for  use  in  Febru- 


379 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

ary,  1859,  and  the  remainder  in  December,  1863.  The  first  title  of 
the  institution  was  "The  Farmers'  High  School  of  Pennsylvania." 
In  1862  it  was  changed  to  "The  Agricultural  School  of  Pennsyl- 
vania," and  in  1874  it  was  given  its  present  title,  "The  Pennsyl- 
vania State  College."  The  conditions  of  the  Congressional  land 
grant  of  1862  were  accepted  by  the  State,  and  the  land  scrip  was 
sold,  the  proceeds  of  which  have  since  constituted  the  larger  part 
of  the  income  of  the  college.  Under  the  provisions  of  what  is 
known  as  the  Hatch  act  of  Congress,  of  March,  1887,  the  Experi- 
ment Station  was  organized  as  a  department  of  the  college  and  so 
remains  to  the  present  time.  One  hundred  acres  of  the  farm  were 
set  off  for  the  use  of  the  Experiment  Station,  sixty  of  which  are 
utilized  as  a  demonstration  of  a  model  farm,  with  an  office  and 
laboratory  building  42  by  59  feet,  two  stories  high ;  in  this  are 
the  director's  office,  business  office,  dairy  husbandry  office,  library 
and  reading  room,  agriculturist's  office,  chemist's  office,  chemical 
laborator}'-,  photographing  room,  etc.  Since  the  establishment  of 
the  Experiment  Station,  which  has  been  of  such  immense  practical 
benefit  to  the  agriculturists  of  the  State,  although  the  institution 
is  not  wholly  agricultural  in  its  purposes,  it  still  aims  to  give  spe- 
cial and  paramount  importance  to  that  field  of  work,  both  theo- 
retical and  experimental.  Having  proportionately  increased  its 
other  subjects  and  courses  of  study  and  its  illustrative  equipment, 
it  is  at  the  same  time  able  to  impart  knowledge  of  the  various 
sciences  in  such  manner  as  to  show  their  application  to  the  more 
important  industries,  and  to  combine  with  every  branch  of  instruc- 
tion actual  practice  in  the  shop,  the  field  and  the  laboratory.  As 
at  present  organized  the  college  is  governed  by  the  board  of  trus- 
tees, from  whom  is  selected  an  advisory  committee  of  five  persons, 
including  the  president  of  the  college,  George  W.  Atherton, 
LL.  D.  H.  P.  Armsby,  Ph.  D.,  is  secretary  of  this  committee. 
The  list  of  officers  and  assistants  includes  sixteen  persons,  and  the 
faculty  and  instructors,  twenty-seven  persons.  All  phases  of 
practical  and  scientific  agriculture  are  taught,  with  physics,  me- 

380 


NATURAL   RESOURCES 

chanical  and  civil  engineering-,  chemistry,  zoology,  mathematics, 
English  and  rhetoric,  geology,  ethics,  German  language,  physical 
science,  etc. 

The  experimental  farm  has  a  barn  54  by  100  feet,  with  a  wing 
especially  adapted  to  experimental  purposes,  a  horse  barn,  a  calf 
barn  and  a  100-ton  silo.  There  is  also  an  example  of  the  modern 
creamery,  with  all  of  the  best  types  of  machinery  for  the  manu- 
facture of  butter  and  cheese.  The  number  of  persons  who  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  receive  instruction  every  year  from  this  insti- 
tution approaches  1,000,  while  the  spreading  gratuitously  of  its 
numerous  educative  bulletins,  the  many  valuable  papers  supplied 
in  the  annual  reports,  and  various  other  methods  of  imparting 
instruction,  give  the  college  a  commanding  position  among  the 
educational  institutions  of  the  State. 

FORESTS  AND  FORESTRY 

The  density  of  the  forests  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard  when  the 
earliest  settlers  arrived  was  in  one  sense  a  misfortune.  Before 
an  acre  of  ground  could  be  sowed  with  grain  an  acre  must  be 
cleared  of  trees.  There  was  more  timber  than  could  possibly 
be  used.  This  led  to  extravagance  and  waste  of  the  forest  re- 
sources. Had  the  forests  been  located  west  of  the  Alleghanies 
(and  the  coast  treeless),  with  the  country  otherwise  as  inviting, 
no  doubt  the  first  thing  these  same  settlers  w^ould  have  done, 
after  establishing  themselves,  would  have  been  to  provide  for  a 
future  supply  of  timber. 

Except  in  a  few  small  areas  Pennsylvania  was  originally  cov- 
ered by  forests.  East  of  the  central  mountain  ranges  wdiere 
the  oak,  hickory,  elm,  ash,  tulip-poplar,  chestnut,  walnut  and 
butternut  predominate,  the  average  timber  production  per  acre 
was  probably  from  3,000  to  5,000  feet,  board  measure. 

In  the  mountain  ranges  in  the  central  part  of  the  State,  white 
pine  and  hemlock  were  much  more  important  than  the  hard  wood 

381 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

or  broad-leaved  trees.  There  were  many  acres  which  produced 
as  high  as  50,000  feet  of  good  kimber.  In  the  same  region, 
often  intermixed  with  the  pine  and  hemlock,  beech,  birch  and 
sugar  maple  were  quite  common,  though  as  a  rule  they  seldom 
produced  more  than  3,000  feet  of  lumber  to  the  acre.  West 
of  the  Allegheny  river  the  oaks  were  the  predominant  trees.  Tak- 
ing the  entire  area  of  the  State  the  sugar  maple  was  formerly 
probably  the  tree  which  was  most  common  and  most  widely 
found. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  between  one-sixth  and  one-fourth 
of  the  State  which  is  producing  almost  nothing,  and  which  would 
in  the  long  run  yield  its  largest  revenue  and  greatest  public  bene- 
fit if  it  were  devoted  to  production  of  forests. 

No  other  nation  has  ever  equalled  America  in  the  removal  of 
forests.  The  thoroughness  and  celerity  with  which  this  work  has 
been  accomplished  is  a  surprise  to  lumbermen  from  abroad. 
"Forestry  has  been  well  said  to  begin  with  the  axe."  It  should 
be  added :  it  does  not  end  there.  The  lumberman  destroys  his 
own  vocation;  the  forester  perpetuates  it. 

Important  as  our  forests  have  been  for  the  lumber  which  they 
have  furnished,  and  the  employment  which  they  have  given  to 
our  people,  it  is  more  than  doubtful  whether  or  not  the  injury 
to  the  country  which  is  likely  to  follow  from  the  vast  denuded 
areas-  left  by  the  lumberman,  and  by  the  fire  which  follows  him, 
will  not  lead  to  a  public  injury  greater  than  the  good  already  de- 
rived. This  problem  may  be  briefly  stated  thus :  Living  for- 
ests are  more  important  to  our  country  than  dead  lumber.  This 
statement  is  so  true  and  yet  so  likely  to  be  regarded  as  extreme 
that  it  should  be  explained  by  saying  that  forests 

(a)  Furnish  lumber  and  nourish  the  arts;  but  even  if  re- 
moved it  would  be  possible  to  import  sufficient  wood  for  our 
needs,  as  England  is  practically  doing  now. 

(b)  Forests  conserve  rainfall  and  prolong  the  period  of  use- 
fulness of  the  water  which  the  earth  receives  from  the  sky. 

382 


NATURAL    RESOURCES 

(c)  It  is  almost  certain  that  they  moderate  climatic  ex- 
tremes, because  of  the  watery  vapor  which  they  are  constantly 
returning  to  the  air.  This  prevents  (at  least  to  a  certain  extent) 
the  escape  at  night  by  radiation  of  the  earth's  heat  and  so  pre- 
vents premature  frost. 

(d)  Forests  furnish  nesting  places  for  birds,  upon  the 
preservation  and  multiplication  of  which  agriculture  depends  to 
destroy  the  increasing  plague  of  insects. 

(e)  Of  all  the  agencies  for  the  removal  of  carbon  dioxide 
gas  from  the  atmosphere,  and  for  the  restoration  of  oxygen  to  it, 
there  is  nothing  so  effective  as  plant  life. 

(f)  As  sanatoriums,  it  is  coming  to  be  recognized  that  the 
forests  are  of  the  greatest  value  to  those  who  are  weakened  by 
the  exacting  duties  of  our  modern  life.  Pulmonary  tubercu- 
losis will,  in  the  near  future,  be  almost  entirely  treated  by  open- 
air  life  in  or  near  extensive  bodies  of  woodland. 

For  practical  purposes  we  may  say  that  in  Pennsylvania,  as 
elsewhere,  forestry  may  be  considered  under  two  heads. 

I.  State  forestry,  under  direction  of  the  State  government, 
where  immediate  financial  returns  are  not  of  necessity  demanded. 

II.  Individual  or  corporate  forestry,  in  which  immediate 
returns,  of  financial  or  other  character,  are  desirable  and  ex- 
pected. 

State  Forestry.  The  first  duty  of  government  is  to  per- 
petuate itself  by  establishing  and  maintaining  conditions  which 
promise  to  lead  most  surely  to  an  enduring  prosperity  of  the  peo- 
ple. To  this  end  every  available  acre  should  be  made  product- 
ive. Ground  that  cannot  be  farmed  by  the  citizen,  but  from 
which  the  State  can  in  time  gain  a  lucrative  timber  crop,  should 
be  devoted  to  forestry.  In  nothing  is  a  settled,  intelligent  plan 
more  requisite  than  in  this  work.  The  mistake  of  a  single  ad- 
ministration might  ruin  a  plan  for  a  century  which  otherwise 
would  have  been  an  entire  success.  As  in  our  public  school  sys- 
tem   only   trained     instructors    can   be   legally   employed,    so   it 

^83 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

should  be  in  the  forestry  work  of  the  State;  merit  should  be  the 
only  reason  for  placing  a  man  on  the  forestry  force,  and  sure 
promotion  should  reward  the  most  efficient  public  servants  en- 
tirely irrespective  of  what  their  political  preferences  may  be. 

No  plan  yet  suggested  promises  more  surely  to  prevent 
State  forestry  from  becoming  an  adjunct  of  a  political  system 
than  to  establish  a  school  of  practical  forestry  on  one  of  our  State 
reservations,  where,  along  with  thorough  instruction  in  the 
necessary  branches,  the  pupils  shall  acquire  a  working  knowledge 
of  their  profession  and  an  ability  to  direct  the  operations  by 
themselves  laboring  in  the  forest  under  competent  supervision. 
This  would  make  their  services  so  immeasurably  superior  to 
those  of  untrained  men  that  there  could  be  no  thought  of  em- 
ploying inferior  help.  It  would  also  open  a  promising  avenue  to 
our  young  men  who  are  now  considering  forestry  as  a  life  work. 

Pennsylvania  in  the  near  future  will  be  in  actual  possession 
of  half  a  million  acres  of  land  suitable  to  the  growth  of  timber 
trees.  To  properly  manage  this  vast  area,  which  will  probably 
be  doubled  in  five  years  more,  will  require  at  least  five  hundred 
trained  men.  Of  these  at  least  one  hundred  should  be  accom- 
plished foresters.  This  seems  like  a  large  force  to  be  provided 
for  out  of  the  public  treasury.  It  must,  however,  be  remem- 
bered that  such  a  force  will  be  expected  to  place  the  Common- 
wealth in  the  way  of  a  return  of  several  millions  of  dollars  annu- 
ally. The  experience  of  Germany,  and  England  in  India,  proves 
that  the  best  service  pays  by  producing  a  proportionately  larger 
financial  return.  It  is  worth  while  to  remember  that  "Prussia 
from  6,000,000  acres  of  State  forests  derives  a  net  annual  reve- 
nue of  $1.50  per  acre.  The  aggregate  of  the  state  forests  in 
Germany  is  10,000,000  acres,  from  which  is  derived  an  annual 
average  net  profit  of  $25,000,000;  the  forests  of  Germany  sup- 
port 3,000,000  people." 

To  mature  a  crop  of  timber  will  require  from  thirty  to  one 
hundred  years.       Locust  may  become  available  for  railroad  ties 

384 


NATURAL  RESOURCES 

in  about  thirty  years.  White  pine  can  hardly  be  expected  to  yield 
any  considerable  revenue  inside  of  seventy-five  years.  The  oaks 
will  probably  require  a  longer  period.  It  is  not  to  be  expected, 
however,  that  during  all  this  time  there  will  be  no  return.  The 
increasing  scarcity  of  timber  convinces  one  that  in  from  ten  to 
fifteen  years  the  forest  should  be  made  self-supporting  by  sale 
of  smaller  timber,  which  necessarily  must  be  thinned  out  to  allow 
a  better  growth  of  the  more  desirable  remaining  trees. 

There  always  has  been  a  class  of  men  who  can  see  no  wisdom 
in  entermg  upon  a  policy  which  requires  so  long  a  time  for  finan- 
cial returns.  To  all  such  the  sufficient  answer  should  be  that 
the  most  competent  statesmen  recognize  the  fact  that  our  safety 
as  a  nation  demands  restoration  of  extensive  bodies  of  timber  on 
ground  which  will  produce  no  other  crop  profitably,  and  the 
sooner  we  begin  the  sooner  will  the  demand  be  satisfied.  The 
longer  we  delay  it  the  greater  will  be  the  difficulties,  the  greater 
the  damage  done,  and  the  more  costly  the  unavoidable  task. 
President  Roosevelt  clearly  realized  this  when  he  declared  thai 
forestry  and  irrigation  were  the  two  most  important  internal  ques- 
tions now  before  the  country. 

In  the  acquisition  of  land  for  its  reservations,  by  purchase, 
the  State  is  simply  restoring  it  to  the  legal  status  it  had  before 
it  was  patented  by  the  individual;  that  is,  the  Commonwealth 
pays  no  taxes  on  the  land  which  it  owns.  By  some  uninformed 
people  this  is  thought  to  be  a  hardship  to  the  county,  because  it 
is  forgotten  that,  first :  This  land,  with  the  timber  on  it,  was  sold 
for  less  money  (26  2-3  cents  per  acre)  than  the  State  is  now  pay- 
ing to  gain  possession  of  it  after  the  timber  has  been  removed : 
second,  that  the  individual  and  the  county  have  already  reaped 
the  benefit  of  the  timber  crop  removed ;  third,  that  much  of  this 
land  has  become  so  poor  that  the  owner  refuses  to  pay  the  taxes 
upon  it,  and  the  land  has  practically  reverted  in  this  condition  to 
the  county ;  fourth,  that  this  land  is  now  valuable  solely  because 
the  State  has  appeared  in  the  market  as  a  purchaser;  fifth,  the 

3-25  385 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

county  can  not,  or  will  not,  protect  this  ground  from  fires  and 
from  thieves,  which  together  would  forever  prevent  it  from  be- 
coming a  source  of  revenue;  sixth,  that  it  is  necessary  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  county  itself  that  this  ground  should  be  made 
productive  again  and  that  the  whole  cost  of  this  falls  upon  the 
Commonwealth ;  seventh,  that  the  State  pays  annually  twenty-five 
dollars  a  mile  upon  the  roads  which  run  through  the  reservation, 
and  so  places  the  highways  in  better  condition  than  they  were 
under  county  administration.  (It  must  also  be  remembered  that 
there  are  but  few  schools  for  the  county  to  support  in  regions 
where  the  State  is  acquiring  its  reservations)  ;  eighth,  that  taxes 
are  paid  for  protection,  and  as  the  county  has  in  the  past  practically 
failed  to  protect  timber  land,  it  merits  no  compensation  where  it 
fails  to  render  protection. 

It  is  fairly  an  open  question  whether  our  whole  method  of 
obtaining  revenue  from  timber  land  should  not  be  changed.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that  thousands  of  acres  of  land  are  being  denuded 
of  trees  annually  in  this  State  because  the  owner  can  not  afford 
to  pay  taxes  upon  land  which  yields  no  revenue  and  is  in  constant 
danger  of  having  its  trees  destroyed  by  fire.  If  standing  tim- 
ber "earns  its  right  to  stand  by  the  benefit  which  it  confers  upon 
the  public,"  any  system  of  taxation  which  encourages  the  owner 
to  remove  the  timber  is  an  injury  to  the  public.  It  would  be 
wiser  to  remove  this  tax  from  standing  timber,  but  to  tax  it 
when  the  owner  utilizes  it,  because  he  has  thus  deprived  the  pub- 
lic of  what  is  important  for  its  welfare  and  derived  for  him- 
self an  income  by  doing  so. 

The  work  of  forest  restoration  on  State  lands  has  actually 
commenced.  Within  five  years  millions  of  young  trees  will 
be  planted  on  our  reservations  annually.  The  State  is  also  ren- 
dering a  no  less  important  service  in  the  protection  which  public 
and  private  lands  are  receiving  against  incendiaries  and  timber 
thieves.  Within  eighteen  months  a  distinguished  judge  as- 
serted that  the  owner  of  unseated  land  had  practically  no  protec- 

386 


NATURAL  RESOURCES 

tion  against  such  lawless  persons.  The  appearance  of  the  State 
as  a  prosecutor  in  such  cases  has  wholly  changed  this.  Convic- 
tions are  now  of  common  occurrence,  even  within  the  judicial 
district  where  the  remark  was  recently  made. 

Education  has  always  been  regarded  as  a  legitimate  field  for 
State  activity.  Forestry  has  not  yet  ceased  to  have  an  educa- 
tional aspect.  It  would  seem  to  be  an  entirely  proper  thing  if 
from  the  State  nurseries  there  could  be  a  free  annual  distribu- 


Bristol   from  the   Island 

From   Day's   Historical   Collections 

tion  of  young  forest  trees  to  our  citizens.  The  cost  would  be 
small,  the  good  gained  incalculable,  and  the  lessons  imparted 
would  be  lasting. 

II.  Inchvidual  or  corporate  forestry  differs  with  State 
forestry  in  that  it  anticipates  returns  within  a  reasonable 
period.  For  example,  a  railroad  company  which  is  obliged  an- 
nually to  purchase  large  number  of  railroad  ties,  and  discovers 
that  these  are  constantly  becoming  more  difficult  and  more  costly 
to  obtain,  might  well  undertake  to  grow  them  itself  because  it 
would  be  the  shortest  visible  manner  of  obtaining  what  was  es- 
sential to  them,  and  because  it  would  educate  other  land  holders 
to  produce  ties  on  land  which  would  yield  no  other  crop. 

It  is  fortunate  indeed  that  there  are  several  species  of  trees 
which  are  native  to,  or  will  thrive  in,  Pennsylvania  and  which  are 
of  such  rapid  growth  that  the  individual  who  plants  them  may 


387 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

himself  receive  a  revenue  from  them.  There  is,  for  example, 
a  constantly  increasing  demand  for  pulpwood.  Tulip  poplar, 
or  yellow  poplar  (Liriodendron),  grows  naturally  and  rapidly 
in  our  mountain  valleys,  and  the  Carolina  poplar  increases  in 
size  with  even  greater  certainty  and  rapidity  on  almost  any  soil 
which  has  some  fertility  and  moisture.  Both  of  these  trees  fur- 
nish  good   pulp  material. 

The  tanning  industry,  of  all  others,  appears  to  be  the  one 
which  will  most  surely  and  speedily  look  to  forestry  for  a  per- 
petuation of  its  supplies.  It  has  been  our  custom  in  this  State 
to  depend  mainly  upon  good-sized  oak  or  hemlock  trees  for  tan- 
ning bark.  The  fact  is  that  a  larger  percentage  of  tannin  may 
be  obtained  from  young  oak  trees  than  from  the  old.  In  Ger- 
many the  most  of  the  bark  used  comes  from  trees  which  are  be- 
tween fifteen  and  forty  years  old.  If  we  protect  a  black  oak  or 
rock  oak  stump  from  which  the  tree  has  recently  been  removed, 
the  sprouts  will  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  become  valuable  for 
tanning  purposes.  The  chestnut  tree,  which  is  a  quick  grower, 
would,  under  proper  care  in  about  twenty  years  from  the  seed 
or  the  stump,  furnish  an  additional  resource  upon  which  the  tim- 
ber grower  could  count.  Chestnut  wood  yields  its  tannin  read- 
ily to  proper  treatment.  Probably  the  growth  of  willows  for  bas- 
ket making  will  before  long  become  a  source  of  revenue. 

There  is  another  aspect  from  which  individual  or  corporate 
forestry  in  Pennsylvania  should  be  considered.  In  the  nature 
of  the  case.  State  forestry  here  will  probably  be  limited  to  such 
parts  of  the  Commonwealth  as  are  hilly,  rocky  or  infertile,  for 
the  reason  that  only  land  of  this  character  is  likely  to  become 
part  of  our  forestry  reservation  system.  It  is  surely  not  wise 
for  the  State  to  compete  with  its  citizens  in  any  business  which 
they  can  be  induced  to  undertake  for  themselves.  Competition 
of  this  sort  might  prove  disastrous  to  private  enterprise.  But 
as  the  efifects  of  forestry  upon  water  flow,  climate  and  atmos- 
pheric purity  are  equally  important  in  all  portions  of  the  Com- 

388 


NATURAL  RESOURCES 

mon wealth,  inducements  should  and  probably  will  eventually  be 
offered  sufficiently  great  to  enable  land  owners  to  undertake  the 
work  of  forest  restoration  in  regions  where  the  State  is  not  do- 
ing so. 

Individual  forestry  as  a  rule  would  naturally  be  done  upon 
a  better  soil  than  that  owned  by  the  State.  The  result  w^ould  be 
a  better  yield,  in  a  shorter  time,  than  that  on  the  State  reserva- 
tions. This  would  naturally  be  in  the  interest  of  the  individual. 
It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  private  land  owner,  however. 
can  hardly  sacrifice  land  which  is  capable  of  yielding  a  larger  or 
a  quicker  return  if  devoted  to  production  of  grain  or  to  grazing, 
important  as  this  may  be  to  the  community,  unless  the  commu- 
nity in  some  way  compensates  him  for  growing  forests.  There 
appears  to  be  no  more  direct  and  equitable  method  of  compensa- 
tion than  by  reduction  or  rebate  of  taxes. 

In  fact  this  is  in  Pennsylvania  already  an  accepted  principle, 
and  laws  are  now-  in  force  which  allow  such  reduction.  It  is 
strange,  however,  that  so  little  advantage  is  taken  of  them  by 
those  most  directly  interested. 

It  may  be  confidently  asserted  that  the  production  of  timber 
in  this  country  will  never  be  in  excess  of  the  demand.  To  show 
how  great  a  cjuantity  of  w-ood  we  are  using  here  annually  I  quote 
the  following,  at  second  hand,  from  the  "Forester"  for  May, 
1902,  p.  216:  "In  1899,  the  pulp  industry  of  the  United  States 
consumed  daily  6,648  cords  of  wood,  which  would  approximate 
an  annual  consumption  of  955,400,000  feet,  board  measure;  this 
was  but  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  total  wood  used  for  other 
purposes."  In  other  words,  the  quantity  of  wood  used  for 
other  purposes  than  pulp  annually  in  the  United  States  reaches 
the  enormous  figure  of  191,080,000,000  feet,  board  measure. 

Already  some  very  important  forestry  work  has  been  done 
by  individuals  and  by  corporations.  Those  who  are  charged 
with  the  administration  of  the  Girard  estate  have  for  several 
years  been  engaged  in  forest  restoration  in  Schuylkill  and  Centre 

389 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

counties.  General  Paul  Oliver  and  Mr.  Albert  Lewis  are  now  suc- 
cessfully illustrating  restorative  forestry  methods  on  their  grounds 
in  Luzerne  county. 

One  phase  of  forestry  which  is  common  enough  abroad,  in 
Germany,  but  has  been  little  considered  here,  merits  a  brief  con- 
sideration. We  allude  to  communal  forestry;  that  is,  a  village, 
as  a  corporation,  owns  an  area  of  forest  land,  which  is  placed 
under  scientific  forest  management.  A  comprehensive  working 
plan  is  made  and  good  roads  are  carried  into  all  parts  of  the  wood. 
The  annual  crop  of  timber  is  harvested  and  care  taken  to  keep 
this  well  within  the  annual  yield.  The  income  from  this  com- 
munal forest  belongs  to  the  town  or  city.  From  it  local  ex- 
penses are  paid  and  no  taxes  are  levied.  There  are  cities  in  Ger- 
many where  such  forests  not  only  furnish  the  money  as  above 
stated,  but  in  which  free  kindergartens,  free  baths  and  free  music 
are  provided.  Such  a  condition  seems  to  be  almost  ideal.  It 
would  be  good  as  far  as  it  could  be  adapted  to  our  more  exacting 
life,  but  we  require  more  than  the  average  German  citizen. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say,  however,  that  the  water  supply  of 
our  cities  and  larger  towns  should  come  from  a  forested  area. 
The  collecting  surface  should  be  as  near  the  stream  head  as  pos- 
sible, and  beyond  possibility  of  any  contamination.  The  town 
or  city  should  absolutely  own  and  control  this  area.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  under  a  proper  system  of  management,  if  the 
area  were  covered  with  forests,  almost  every  town  or  city 
of  more  than  twenty  thousand  inhabitants  in  this  Common- 
wealth could  have  water  brought  to  the  doors  of  its  citizens 
in  a  few  years  without  tax  or  charge  to  them. 

Here  forestry  lends  its  services  directly  to  the  health,  lon- 
gevity and  comfort  of  our  citizens. 

A  wooded  wilderness  is  necessarily  a  forest,  but  every  forest 
is  not  necessarily  a  wooded  wilderness.  The  average  American 
fails  to  recognize  that  a  forest  may  be  intersected  by  well  kept 
roads,  which  lead  to  towns  or  cities  within  a  territory  which  is, 

390 


NATURAL  RESOURCES 

in  the  main,  devoted  to  the  production  of  timber.  This  mis- 
apprehension of  the  true  significance  of  the  term  has  done  infinite 
harm  to  the  forestry  cause  in  this  country.  Forestry  exists  for 
the  purpose,  primarily,  of  perpetuating  lumbering  and  manufactur- 
ing interests,  and  to  do  the  work  which  is  required  it  is  necessary 
that  the  workmen  live  in  or  near  the  forest.  It  would  simplify 
our  conception  of  this  whole  problem  if  we  were  to  regard  for- 
estry as  that  branch  of  agriculture  whose  business  it  is  to  pro- 
duce trees. 

It  is  rarely  given  to  a  generation  wdiich  begins  a  great  reform 
to  see  that  reform  consummated.  The  forestry  movement  has 
been  in  every  sense  a  genuine  reformation.  It  has  changed  the 
thoughts  of  practically  an  entire  nation.  This  of  itself  would 
certainly  indicate  that  there  was  a  widespread  recognition  of 
the  fact  that  our  civilization  was  taking,  in  part,  a  dangerous  di- 
rection. No  mere  local  movement  could  have  accomplished  the 
change  which  we  have  witnessed  within  the  lifetime  of  a  genera- 
tion. The  part  Pennsylvania  has  borne  in  w^orking  this  change 
is  one  of  which  the  State  may  well  be  proud,  and  it  is  proper 
that  this  be  placed  upon  record. 

"On  April  3d,  1872,  Richard  Haldeman,  of  Pennsylvania, 
introduced  into  Congress,  by  unanimous  consent,  a  bill  to  encour- 
age the  planting  of  trees,  and  for  the  preservation  of  w'oods  on 
the  public  domain."  He  alluded  to  the  measure  on  April 
nth,  as  introducing  a  new  feature  into  the  legislation  of 
the  country.  Of  course  Mr.  Haldeman  was  not  ignorant  of 
what  had  been  done  in  forestry  in  Germany  and  in  France,  and 
he  was  fully  aware  that  but  very  few  of  our  citizens  would  recog- 
nize the  far-reaching  consequences  of  the  movement  which  he 
was  inaugurating.  It  is  almost  certain  that  Mr.  Haldeman 
himself  could  not  have  foreseen  that  within  thirty  years  the  gen- 
eral government  would  have  set  aside  many  millions  of  acres  on 
the  public  domain  to  be  devoted  forever  to  the  production  of  tim- 
ber.    After  all,  this  prosaic  world  does  move  more  rapidly  than 

391 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

its  most  progressive  citizens.  No  better  address  upon  forestry 
than  that  of  Mr.  Haldeman,  or  better  adapted  to  the  period  of 
its  dehvery,  has  been  made  up  to  this  time  in  this  country.  The 
measure  which  he  advocated  was  defeated.  The  agitation,  how- 
ever, was  productive  of  good  results,  for  the  following  March 
Mr.  Donnell  of  the  committee  on  Public  Lands  submitted  a  re- 
port upon  the  cultivation  of  timber  and  the  preservation  of  for- 
ests. We  may  well  suppose  that  this  was,  in  part,  led  up  to  by 
the  recommendation  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science  that  the  subject  of  national  forestry  be  in- 
quired into,  and  the  fact  that  the  President  had  made  this  recom- 
mendation the  subject  of  a  special  message. 

The  late  Washington  Townsend,  then  representing  Chester 
and  Delaware  counties  in  Congress,  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in 
directing  the  movement  which  resulted  in  sending  the  late  F.  B. 
Hough  abroad  to  study  forestry  conditions  and  report  upon  the 
same.  Mr.  Hough's  volumes  were  of  necessity  hastily  prepared. 
They  contained  many  partial  statements,  and  were  not  without 
error  in  some  respects.  The  marvel  is  that  they  were  as  valuable 
as  they  have  since  proven,  and  to  this  day  they  may  be  studied 
with  advantage.  The  dates  of  publication  of  Mr.  Hough's  re- 
ports are  1877,  1878,  1879  and  1882.  In  the  meantime  our 
State  Board  of  Agriculture  had  recognized  the  importance  of 
this  new  movement.  Thomas  J.  Edge,  then  secretary  of  that 
representative  body  of  farmers,  lost  no  time  in  directing  atten- 
tion to  the  forestry  agitation  in  its  relations  to  agriculture.  The 
consequences  were  that  in  the  report  of  the  State  Board  of  Agri- 
culture there  were  no  less  than  five  papers  upon  the  forestry  prob- 
lem, as  it  then  presented  itself  to  us.  The  report  of  the  next  year 
contained  two  papers  upon  the  same  subject.  Looked  at  from 
our  present  standpoint  these  papers  were  immature,  partial  expres- 
sions of  great  truths;  but  they  paved  the  way  to  better  things. 

The  most  valuable  paper  upon  forestry  which  the  times  then 
had  produced  in  Pennsylvania  was  the  report  of  Dr.  Roland,  of 

392 


NATURAL  RESOURCES 

York.  It  contained  much  valuable  information,  but  did  not,  in 
fact  could  not  then,  point  out  clearly  what  was  to  be  done.  It 
is  quite  true  that  we  had,  then  as  now,  the  examples  of  older 
countries  where  forestry  was  a  well  established  science,  to  fol- 
low;  but  these  were  then  unapproachable  ideals.  There  never 
was  a  time  when  a  young  government  did,  or  could,  by  a  single 
act  intrpduce  such  a  perfected  system  into  its  working  parts 
without  creating  strain.  The  citizenship  of  the  country  under 
a  popular  government  would  ask,  why  all  these  new  offices,  why 
this  increased  expense? 

Besides  all  this  it  is  more  than  doubtful  whether  any  foreign 
system  of  forestry  would  be,  as  an  unmodified  whole,  the  best 
thing  possible  in  Pennsylvania,  or  the  United  States. 

The  legislative  session  of  1885  authorized  the  Governor  to  ap- 
point an  Arbor  day,  and  in  1887  a  similar  enactment  was  placed 
upon  the  statute  books.  The  day  has  accomplished,  through 
the  public  school  system  of  the  State,  very  gratifying  results. 
Though  it  has  not  led  to  the  creation  of  any  forests,  it  has 
brought  about  an  increased  respect  for  a  tree,  which  in  itself  is 
a  most  hopeful  sign  in  a  nation  which  had  devoted  most  of  its 
early  energies  to  destroying  forests  and  which,  rightly  enough 
for  the  time,  considered  land  worth  more  without  the  trees  than 
with  them. 

In  the  year  1877,  the  interest  of  a  small  legacy  left  by  F. 
Andre  Michaux  became  available  for  use  in  the  creation  of  proper 
forestry  sentiment  among  our  people.  It  is  quite  true  that  the 
most  of  the  subject  matter  of  those  lectures  was  only  faintly 
tinctured  with  forestry.  It  is  amusing  now  to  recall  the  criti- 
cism which  the  Michaux  forestry  lectures  received.  One  dis- 
tinguished scientist,  since  gone  to  his  reward,  lamented  that  so 
good  an  opportunity  for  teaching  abstract  science  should  be  given 
to  the  popularizing  knowledge,  which  he  despised.  Another 
equally  distinguished  scientist  considered  that  these  lectures  should 
not  be  called  forestry  lectures  at  all,  and  suggested  several  bet- 

393 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

ter  purposes  to  which  the  money  could  be  apphed.  Neither  of 
these  gentlemen  realized  that  the  public,  which  the  testator 
wished  to  reach,  cared  nothing  for  either  high  science  or  pure 
forestry,  and  that  it  was  better  to  lecture  to  large  audiences,  in  a 
popular  way,  than  to  empty  seats,  in  a  scientific  way.  But  the 
criticism  availed  nothing.  The  speaker  kept  serenely  on  lectur- 
ing to  ever  increasing  audiences,  until  after  the  fourteenth  and 
final  annual  course  was  delivered,  when  it  was  not  difficult  to  see 
that  by  some  means  the  public  had  absorbed  and  welcomed  the 
forestry  idea. 

Already  at  this  early  period  the  newspapers  of  our  State  had 
lent  the  new  movement  their  unqualified  support.  This  they 
have  continued  to  do.  Without  their  aid  progress  would  have 
been  slow  indeed. 

It  was  a  hopeful  sign  that  the  people,  while  recognizing  the 
rights  of  the  land  owner,  were  also  recognizing  the  fact  that  he 
was  under  a  moral  responsibility  not  to  despoil  the  State  by  waste 
of  timber  resources,  and  thus  entail  hardship  and  needless  bur- 
dens upon  the  children  who  succeeded  him.  It  was  commenc- 
ing also  to  be  recognized  that  it  was  a  legitimate  function  of  the 
State  to  interfere  and  to  see  that  he  did  not  do  so.  Herein  was 
probably  the  foundation  upon  which  the  people  rested  when  they 
began  to  demand  that  certain  portions  of  the  State  should  again 
become  the  property  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  disregarding 
individual  benefits,  be  managed  in  such  a  way  as  to  promote  the 
prosperity  of  all.  These  State  reservations  were  to  be,  in  addi- 
tion, the  outing  grounds  for  all  and  upon  which  no  one  could 
ever  acquire  exclusive  privileges.  To  anticipate,  it  may  be  well 
here  to  remark  that  the  near  future  will  probably  prove  that  in 
establishing  such  reservations,  the  State  has  done  its  most  benefi- 
cent work  in  preventing  spread  of  pulmonary  tuberculosis  and 
in  curing  it  when  started. 

New  York  began  her  system  of  State  forest  reservations 
earlier  than  Pennsylvania,  and  had  already  secured  about  a  mil- 

394 


NATURAL  RESOURCES 

lion  of  acres  of  land  before  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  began  to 
acquire  land  for  this  purpose. 

The  spring  of  1886  brought  a  new  force  into  the  forestry 
field.  Some  public-spirited  ladies  in  Philadelphia  took  meas- 
ures looking  to  organizing  a  Pennsylvania  Forestry  associa- 
tion. At  present,  1902,  there  are  nearly  two  thousand  mem- 
bers in  this  society.  It  represents  the  most  active  public  spirit 
of  the  State.  There  is  not  a  county  in  which  its  influence  is  not 
felt.  To  its  credit  be  it  said  that,  during  the  sixteen  years  since 
the  society  was  founded,  it  has  always  been  wisely  aggressive 
for  the  forestry  movement.  It  has  never  awakened  active  hos- 
tility by  rash,  impolitic  or  harsh  measures. 

The  Pennsylvania  Forestry  association  has  published,  once 
in  two  months,  a  modest  little  journal,  "Forest  Leaves,"  which 
has  been  widely  distributed  and  done  an  important  work.  There 
never  has  been  a  lack  of  material  for  its  pages,  though  it  never 
has  paid  for  contributions.  In  1892  the  association  had  gained 
strength  enough  to  employ  a  general  secretary,  who  was  to  devote 
his  entire  time  to  the  forestry  work. 

In  January,  1893,  D.  Smith  Talbot,  of  Chester  county,  in- 
troduced into  the  legislature  a  measure  for  the  Pennsylvania 
Forestry  association.  It  was  entitled  "An  Act  Relative  to  a 
Forestry  Commission  and  Providing  for  the  Expenses  There- 
of;" this  act  became  a  law,  and  the  commission  appointed  by 
Governor  Pattison  published  its  report  in  1895  and  was  imme- 
diately thereafter  discharged. 

Meanwhile  the  legislature  of  1895  had  created  the  State  De- 
partment of  Agriculture.  In  this  department  a  division  of  for- 
estry was  placed  on  a  permanent  basis,  having  an  officer 
designated  as  the  Commissioner  of  Forestry,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  report  upon  the  various  forest  conditions  of  the  Common- 
wealth and  to  assist  in  creating  an  interest  in  forestry. 

The  following  session  (1897)  of  the  legislature  witnessed 
most  important  advances.     First  of  all  a  permanent  committee 

395 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

on  Forestry  was  authorized  in  both  the  House  and  Senate.  Be- 
fore this  all  forestry  measures  were  referred  to  the  committee 
on  Agriculture,  which,  having  already  heavy  burdens,  could 
hardly  be  expected  to  recognize  fully  the  claims  of  forestry.  No 
more  important  advance  in  forestry  for  this  State  has  been  made 
than  by  the  appointment  of-  these  committees.  That  same  ses- 
sion, constables  of  townships  were  made  cx-ofRcio  fire  wardens 
and  were  charged  with  the  duty  of  suppressing  forest  fires  and 
authorized  to  call  out  men  to  do  the  work.  The  compensation 
allowed  was  fifteen  cents  an  hour  for  constables  and  twelve  cents 
an  hour  for  the  workmen.  This  never  was  considered  an  ideal 
law  b}-  those  who  urged  its  passage.  It  was  only  accepted  as 
the  best  attainable  when  the  bill  offered  by  the  commissioners  of 
forestry  in  1895  had  been  killed  in  the  Senate  committee  on 
Agriculture,  after  it  had  passed  the  House  by  a  small  majority 
and  a  desperate  struggle. 

There  had  long  been  a  law  on  the  statute  books  which  made 
it  the  duty  of  the  county  commissioners  to  appoint  detectives  to 
ferret  out  and  bring  to  punishment  those  who  created  forest  fires, 
but  it  was  generally  disregarded  because  there  was  no  punish- 
ment specified  for  failure  to  make  these  appointments.  This 
was  corrected  by  the  legislature  of  1897  and  a  penal  clause  was 
attached  to  the  law.  It  is  now  more  effective  and  an  increasing 
number  of  arrests  are  made  and  convictions  had  each  year. 

The  session  of  1897  also  authorized  the  purchase  by  the  com- 
missioner of  Forestry  of  lands  which  were  sold  by  the  county 
treasurers  and  commissioners  for  non-payment  of  taxes,  when 
these  lands  could  be  had  at  a  price  not  in  excess  of  taxes  due  and 
costs.  In  this  way  the  first  lands  for  the  State  Forestry  reser 
vations  were  obtained.  Forestry  reservations  were  first  author- 
ized by  the  session  of  1897.  Further  allusion  to  this  will  be 
made  later. 

The  session  of  1899  enlarged  the  power  of  the  commissioner 
of  Forestrv  1w  authorizing  him   to  purchase  lands  other  than 

396 


NATURAL  RESOURCES 

those  sold  for  taxes,  with  the  consent  of  the  Governor  and  the 
Board  of  Property,  when  these  lands  could  be  had  at  suitable 
prices.  But  few  purchases  were  made  under  this  act,  as  it  was 
soon  practically  superseded  by  Governor  Stone  completing  the 
commission  which  was  authorized  by  the  act  of  1897  to  create, 
by  purchase  of  lands,  three  State  Forestry  reservations  of  not 
less  than  forty  thousand  acres  each,  one  of  which  was  to  be  lo- 
cated upon  the  head  waters  of  each  of  the  chief  rivers  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, namely,  the  Delaware,  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Ohio. 

It  was  reserved  for  the  legislature  of  1899  to  take  the  final 
step  which  gave  direction  and  dignity  to  the  forest  policy  of 
Pennsylvania  by  creating  a  separate  department  of  Forestry, 
the  equal  in  standing  with  the  department  of  State  or  the  de- 
partment of  Public  Instruction.  No  other  State  has  so  com- 
pletely recognized  the  importance  of  the  forestry  movement. 
Even  the  general  government  has  been  unable  to  free  forestry 
from  other  entangling  alliances. 

In  some  respects  the  State  of  New  York  is  in  advance  of 
Pennsylvania  in  her  forestry  work.  For  example,  her  reserva- 
tions are  several  times  larger  than  those  of  our  State  and  she  has 
in  prosperous  operation  a  college  of  forestry  at  Cornell  univer- 
sity. But  on  the  other  hand  there  are  greater  possibilities  in 
store  for  Pennsylvania,  because  the  act  of  February  25,  1901, 
which  created  the  department  of  Forestry,  placed  it  and  the 
State  reservations  in  the  hands  of  a  commission  with  almost  un- 
limited power  to  act  in  the  direction  of  progress,  and  only  limit- 
ing that  commission  in  its  power  to  work  an  injury.  For  exam- 
ple, the  New  York  authorities  are  prevented  from  undertaking 
any  general  lumbering  on  the  lands  of  the  State,  though  it  would 
be  clearly  to  the  benefit  of  the  forests  themselves  if  this  could  be 
allowed.  The  Pennsylvania  forest  authorities  may  cut  timber, 
or  lease  the  right  to  cut  it.  Or  they  may,  under  certain  restric- 
tions, lease  land  to  other  parties  for  mining  purposes.  They 
may  appoint  the  necessary  force  to  do  any  necessary  work. 

397 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

It  is  but  fair  to  say  here  that  from  the  time  of  Governor 
Hartranft  down,  each  succeedingf  Governor,  regardless  of  his 
poHtical  affihations,  has  recognized  more  clearly  how  important 
this  forestry  work  is  to  the  Commonwealth  and  each  one  has 
given  it  the  weight  of  his  favorable  consideration  and  influence. 
This  surely  was  to  have  been  expected  in  a  State  which  in  1880 
stood  second  in  its  lumber  production,  and  whose  output  for  that 
year  was  1,733,844,000  feet,  board  measure,  whose  forest  prod- 
ucts for  the  same  period  were  worth  $22,457,359,  and  to  obtain 
which  $2,918,459  were  paid  to  the  laborers  of  the  State. 

The  most  serious  problem  left  us  is  that  of  forest  fires.  It 
is  certain,  however,  that  these  will  become  less  frequent  and  less 
serious  as  the  growing  public  sentiment  crystallizes  against  those 
who  create  them.  Natural  forces  alone  would  reforest  the 
State  in  time,  if  these  fires  were  stopped.  It  does  not  follow, 
however,  that  the  crop  so  produced  would  come  as  promptly,  or 
be  so  desirable,  as  if  nature  were  assisted  by  scientific  forestry. 

In  conclusion  we  may  claim  that  the  forestry  cause  in  Penn- 
sylvania is  practically  won.  The  movement  has  gone  too  far 
to  be  abandoned.  It  has  taken  too  deep  hold  upon  the  public 
to  be  neglected.  The  healthfulness  of  its  growth  and  the  meas- 
ure of  its  usefulness  will  depend  mainly  upon  the  honesty  and  in- 
telligence of  those  who  are  placed  at  the  head  of  the  v/ork. 


398 


CHAPTER  XI. 

PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

THE  region  known  as  western  Pennsylvania  first  begins  to 
appear  to  the  eyes  of  civilized  men  about  the  beginning  of 
the  third  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

It  lay  under  the  sun  a  virgin  wilderness  ribbed  by  ranges 
of  hills  and  low  mountains  having  a  general  trend  from  the 
southwest  to  the  northeast.  Between  the  hills  ran  brooks  and 
rivulets  innumerable,  at  last  mingling  their  waters  in  the  south 
to  form  the  lazily  flowing  Monongahela  and  in  the  north  to  form 
the  clear,  swift-rushing  Allegheny  and  the  Beaver,  all  at  last  dis- 
charging their  streams  into  the  broad  Ohio,  la  belle  riviere  of  the 
French  voyageurs. 

In  the  valleys  and  on  the  mountains  to  their  summits  there 
were  trees.  On  the  mountains  grew  pines — leagues,  leagues 
upon  leagues  of  regal  pines — white  pines,  towering  an  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  toward  the  sky ;  and  there  were  broad  areas  somber 
with  the  shade  of  hemlocks.  Mingling  with  the  pines  and  the 
hemlock-spruces  there  grew  on  the  mountains  oaks  of  many 
species,  maples,  birches,  beeches,  lindens,  tulip-poplars,  magnolias, 
and  wild-cherry  trees.  Everywhere  on  the  ridges  where  the  trees 
grew  thick  by  the  watercourses  were  tangled  masses  of  rhododen- 
drons, laurels,  alders,  and  witch-hazels.  In  the  valleys,  too,  there 
were  oaks,  but  higher  than  they  stood  the  sycamores,  with  great 
white  branches  beckoning  skyward,  drooping  elms,  horse-chest- 
nuts, and  catalpas.    Close  by  the  watercourses  were  fringes  of  wil- 

399 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

lows.  Grapevines  and  Virginia  creepers  mantled  the  trees  every- 
where, and  every  stump  was  draped  with  woodland  festoonery,  and 
every  shady  nook  was  full  of  ferns  and  flowers.  In  April  the 
service-berry  wove  a  web  of  fine  white  blossoms  like  fleecy  clouds 
along,  the  hillsides,  and  in  May  the  dogwood  threw  forth  snowy 
masses  of  bloom  against  the  green  of  the  forest  walls.  Every- 
where there  were  flowers.  Here  the  Canadian  and  the  Caro- 
linian floras  met  and  mingled  in  beauty.  In  the  fall  of  the  year 
the  mountain  sides  were  ablaze  with  such  glory  of  autumnal 
foliage  as  is  nowhere  else  to  be  seen  in  the  world.  Of  all  "the 
woody  lands  of  Penn"  these  were  the  most  resplendently  woody. 

The  woods  were  the  home  of  innumerable  birds.  Three 
hundred  and  more  species  haunted  the  mountain  sides  or  dwelt 
upon  the  waters.  The  sky  at  times  was  darkened  by  flights  of 
passenger  pigeons,  millions  of  them  congregating  at  nightfall  at 
their  roosts.  The  Carolina  parrot  made  nests  in  the  hollows  of 
the  sycamores  along  the  Beaver.  Wild  turkeys  roamed  through 
the  underbrush.  In  the  spring  and  the  fall  the  rivers  were  black 
with  swarms  of  ducks  and  wnld  geese. 

In  the  forest  ranged  the  moose,  the  wapiti,  and  the  Virginian 
deer.  The  black  bear  grew  fat  upon  grubs  and  berries  among  the 
hills.  The  puma  haunted  the  deep  ravines.  On  all  the  smaller 
streams  the  beaver  had  built  his  dams.  In  the  western  part  of  the 
broad  domain  the  bison  was  found  straggling  eastward  from  his 
grazing  grounds  in  Kentucky  and  the  prairie  lands  of  the  Wabash 
and  the  Illinois. 

Of  human  inhabitants  there  were  but  few.  At  most  a  few 
thousands  of  red  men  built  their  wigwams  in  the  wilderness  and 
plied  their  rude  canoes  upon  the  rivers.  Near  the  main  streams, 
here  and  there,  they  had  carved  upon  the  rocks  the  signs  which 
told  to  what  tribal  clan  they  belonged.  Here  and  there  were 
earthen  mounds,  which  were  the  burial  places  in  which  their  fore- 
fathers had  laid  their  dead  to  rest.  They  planted  a  little  maize 
and  grew  a  little  tobacco.    They  derived  their  subsistence  mainly 

400 


f^y^yl^pk^ /.y^:rr/,^y/,n,:^y^',,,,,.z  J''-^f'^t'-n/  f:?i.M^^ 


PirTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

from  the  chase  and  from  fishing.  Intertribal  wars  had  told 
heavily  upon  their  numbers  at  the  time.  They  were  a  silent, 
courageous,  but  poor  and  weak  people,  whose  time  on  earth 
was  nearly  past.     Soon  the  great  sea  of  Caucasian  invasion,  the 


Samuel  Barr 

First  Presbyterian  clergyman  settled  in  Pitts- 
burgh, 1786.  Reproduced  for  this  work  from 
a  print  in  possession  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Holland 

lapping  waves  of  which  had  already  begun  to  flow  over  the  east- 
ern edge  of  the  continent,  will  have  swept  over  them,  and  though 
with  savage  bravery  they  may  resist  for  awhile,  they  will  be  swal- 
lowed up  and  lost  forever. 

When  the  first  white  man  entered  the  woodlands  of  western 
Pennsylvania  will  never  be  certainly  known.  That  a  few  wan- 
dering trappers  and  fur-traders  had  come  into  the  region  from  the 


3-26 


401 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

shores  of  the  Potomac  and  the  Susquehanna  as  early  as  the  second 
decade  of  the  century  is  almost  certain.  That  a  few  parties  of 
wandering  Frenchmen  had  come  down  the  Allegheny  in  the  third 
decade  is  known.  That  a  growing  traffic  in  rum  and  furs  was 
carried  on  with  the  Indians -of  the  region  by  "packmen"  in  the 
next  decade,  is  attested  by  indisputable  evidence.  These  "pack- 
men" Benjamin  Franklin  declared  to  be  "the  most  vicious  and 
abandoned  wretches  of  our  nation."  While  the  older  settlements 
prospered  indirectly  as  the  result  of  the  growing  traffic  in  which 
the  red  man  exchanged  his  peltries  for  the  strong  drink  of  the 
white  man,  the  frontier  was  the  scene  of  much  debauchery  and 
violence. 

While  trappers  and  traders  were  beginning  to  enter  the  region 
from  the  east  and  the  southeast,  a  more  formidable  movement 
was  being  planned  in  the  north.  The  French,  who  had  held  pos- 
session of  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  for  nearly  two  centuries, 
had  already  pushed  their  explorations  to  the  head  of  Lake  Su- 
perior, to  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  and  thence  southward 
along  the  great  river  to  its  mouth,  and  westward  into  the  region 
of  the  Missouri  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  They  laid  claim  to 
the  entire  continent  north  of  the  Spanish  possessions,  except  the 
narrow  strip  along  the  Atlantic  coast  occupied  by  the  Eng- 
lish. To  western  Pennsylvania  they  laid  claim  because  of  the 
explorations  of  La  Salle  and  his  successors.  While  it  had  long 
been  known  that  access  to  the  lower  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
could  easily  be  had  by  way  of  the  Allegheny,  which  was  at  first 
known  alike  to  the  French  and  the  English  as  the  Ohio,  the  pow- 
erful confederacy  of  the  Iroquois  and  their  alliance  with  the  Eng- 
lish in  New  York  had  deterred  the  French  from  often  utilizing 
this  route.  But  the  Indians  early  in  the  eighteenth  century  had 
become  partially  estranged  from  the  English  and  had  made  a 
treaty  with  the  French.  The  time  had  come,  when,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  authorities  at  Montreal,  it  was  their  duty  to  assert 
their  claim  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.     Accordingly  Celeron  was 

402 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

dispatched  in  1749  to  take  possession  of  the  region.  The  party 
consisted  of  two  hundred  and  forty-six  souls.  After  many 
fatigues  and  perils,  they  accomplished  their  mission,  here  and 
there  fastening  proclamations  to  the  trees  and  burying  leaden 
plates  in  the  soil  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  whole  broad 
domain  was  claimed  as  the  property  of  the  French  crown.  Where 
traders  were  found  they  were  summarily  ordered  to  quit  the 
region  as  intruders,  and  the  attention  of  the  governor  of  Pennsyl- 
vania was  called  by  Celeron  in  a  letter  to  his  surprise  and  indigna- 
tion at  finding  English-speaking  traders  at  a  point  near  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Tarentum.  A  similar  party  of  six  traders  were 
encountered  by  him  at  Shannopin's  Town,  an  Indian  village,  the 
site  of  wdiich  was  within  the  present  limits  of  the  city  of  Pitts- 
burgh, on  the  banks  of  the  Allegheny  at  the  foot  of  Thirty-second 
street. 

But  while  the  French  were  endeavoring  to  enforce  their  claim 
to  the  region,  the  English  in  Virginia  had  also  resolved  upon 
action.  Virginia,  in  virtue  of  her  charter,  laid  claim  to  all  the 
lands  drained  by  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries.  In  the  year  1748 
the  Ohio  Company  was  formed,  and  secured  a  charter  making  a 
grant  of  half  a  million  acres  between  the  Kanawha  and  the  Mo- 
nongahela.  The  condition  of  the  grant  was  that  within  seven 
years  one  hundred  families  should  be  settled  in  the  region,  and 
that  a  fort  should  be  built  and  properly  garrisoned.  In  order  to 
ascertain  how  best  to  carry  out  their  plans,  the  Ohio  Company  in 
1750  dispatched  Christopher  Gist,  an  Englishman  who  had  set- 
tled in  North  Carolina,  to  make  a  reconnoissance.  He  was  an 
intrepid  and  faithful  man,  skilled  in  all  the  arts  of  the  frontier. 
He  reached  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Ligonier  on  November 
the  14th,  1750,  arrived  at  Shannopin's  Town  on  the  19th  of  the 
same  month,  and  after  a  brief  stay  pushed  on  down  the  Ohio  and 
to  the  Muskingum,  where  he  found  George  Croghan,  who  had 
been  commissioned  by  the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania  to  make 
friendly  advances  to  the  Indians  on  the  frontier,  and  who  was  ac- 

403 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

companied  by  Andrew  Montour,  a  half-breed  interpreter.  Gist 
returned  the  following  spring  to  his  hom^  and  reported  to  his 
employers  what  he  had  ascertained. 

Presently  a  change  took  place  in  the  government  of  the 
French  provinces  in  Canada.  The  Marquis  Duquesne  succeeded 
the  Marquis  de  la  Joncaire,  and  promptly  resolved  to  establish 
a  line  of  fortifications  from  Lake  Erie  along  the  Ohio,  thus  wall- 
ing out  the  English  from  the  great  fertile  valleys  lying  to  the 
west.  Marin  and  St.  Pierre,  in  the  spring  of  1753,  set  out  with  a 
force  of  over  one  thousand  men  to  occupy  the  land.  They  chose 
the  harbor  of  Erie,  which  they  called  Presque  Isle,  as  their  base 
of  operations,  and  by  the  time  the  snow  flew  they  had  built  a  fort 
of  squared  timbers  at  Erie,  made  a  good  road  for  fifteen  miles 
through  the  forests  to  the  point  where  the  town  of  Waterford 
now  stands,  and  had  there  erected  an  even  larger  and  more  sub- 
stantial fortification  than  the  one  at  Presque  Isle.  To  this  they 
gave  the  name  of  Fort  le  Boeuf.  They  had  also  endeavored  to 
erect  a  fort  at  the  point  where  French  creek  empties  into  the  Alle- 
gheny, the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Venango.  From  this  they 
were,  however,  deterred  by  the  Indians,  who  refused  consent  to 
the  step.  Nevertheless,  they  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  permission 
of  the  red  men  to  occupy  the  spot  with  a  company  of  troops  under 
the  command  of  Joncaire.  The  lilies  of  France,  when  the  leaves 
fell  in  autumn,  were  flying  on  the  soil  of  the  territorv  claimed  by 
Virginia  and  also  claimed  by  the  descendants  of  William  Penn. 

Tidings  of  what  the  French  had  done  during  the  summer  of 
17^7,  came  to  the  ears  of  Governor  Dinwiddie.  He  was  filled 
with  indignation,  and  promntlv  wrote  a  letter  to  the  French  com- 
mandant setting  forth  the  claims  of  the  Eng-lish  to  the  region  and 
requiring  the  French  to  withdraw.  This  letter  he  entrusted  to  a 
voung  survevor  bv  the  name  of  George  Washington,  who,  though 
only  twenty-one  years  of  age,  had  been  already  made  a  major  in 
the  militia  of  Virginia  and  had  given  proof  of  the  possession  of 
qualities  which  were  later  to  make  him  one  of  the  most  famous 

404 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

men  of  all  time.  The  man  who  was  chcjsen  to  act  as  his  guide  was 
Christopher  Gist,  and  with  them  went  Jacob  Vanbraam  and  John 
Davison,  the  former  to  serve  as  an  interpreter  with  the  French, 


3Se 


Map  of  Pittsburgh,   1795 


Engraved  especially  for  this  work  from  print  in 
possession  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Holland 


and  the  latter  as  an  interpreter  wnth  the  Indians.  In  addition 
to  the  two  interpreters,  Washington  and  Gist  took  with  them 
four  servants,  who  were  experienced  frontiersmen.     On  the  22d 


405 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

of  November  they  reached  the  cabin  of  John  Frazier,  on  the 
Monongahela,  at  the  mouth  of  Turtle  creek.  The  next  day  they 
went  on  to  Shannopin's  Town  and  to  the  "Forks  of  the  Ohio." 
Here  Washington's  quick  eye  caught  at  a  glance  the  strategic  im- 
portance of  the  spot,  and  on  his  return  he  reported  to  Governor 
Dinwiddie  that  this  was  the  place  at  which  to  erect  the  fort,  the 
construction  of  which  was  demanded  by  the  charter  of  the  Ohio 
Company.  The  following  night  was  passed  in  camp  at  the  foot 
of  the  eminence  now  known  as  Monument  Hill  in  Allegheny. 
From  this  point  they  went  to  Logstown,  an  Indian  village  below 
what  is  to-day  known  as  Sewickley.  Here  they  secured  four 
Indian  guides,  three  of  them  chiefs,  known  as  the  Half-King, 
White  Thunder,  Jeskakake,  the  hunter,  and  Guyasutha. 

The  journey  to  Fort  le  Boeuf  was  full  of  hardships,  and  the 
return  was  full  of  perils.  Once  they  were  fired  upon  by  an  Indian, 
who  luckily  missed  his  aim,  and,  in  attempting  on  a  raft  to  cross 
the  Allegheny  at  a  point  nearly  opposite  the  present  site  of  the 
Lucy  Furnaces  in  Pittsburgh,  Washington  was  thrown  into  the 
water,  which  was  full  of  running  ice,  and  narrowly  escaped  loeing 
drowned.  This  was  on  the  night  of  December  28th,  1753.  On 
January  ist,  1754,  the  party  set  out  from  Frazier's  cabin  at  Turtle 
creek  and  fifteen  days  later  reached  Williamsburg,  the  capital  of 
Virginia,  and  reported  to  Governor  Dinwiddie  the  refusal  of 
St.  Pierre  to  withdraw  the  French  forces  from  the  headwaters  of 
the  Allegheny. 

It  was  plain  to  the  men  of  Virginia  that  the  time  had  come  for 
action.  They  endeavored  to  enlist  the  other  colonies  of  the  sea- 
board in  an  effort  to  restrain  the  French  invasion,  but  met  with 
little  success.  Governor  Dinwiddie  was  not,  however,  the  man 
to  desist  from  efifort  because  he  could  not  quickly  find  allies. 
Without  even  waiting  for  the  house  of  burgesses  to  vote  supplies, 
he  put  two  hundred  of  the  militia  into  the  field.  Forty  men  under 
Captain  William  Trent,  whose  name  is  borne  by  the  capital  of 
New  Jersey,  were  sent  forward  to  the  junction  of  the  Allegheny 

406 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

and  the  Monongahela  to  build  a  fort,  one  hundred  and  thirty  men 
were  hurried  after  them  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  George  Washington,  while  Colonel  Joshua  Fry  brought 
up  the  rear  with  the  rest  of  the  regiment,  which  had  been  recruited 
to  about  three  hundred  men.  The  house  of  burgesses  meanwhile 
voted  ten  thousand  pounds  for  the  defense  of  the  colony. 

While  Washington  was  still  at  Will's  creek  and  Fry  had  not 
advanced  beyond  Alexandria,  on  the  17th  day  of  April,  1754. 
while  both  Captain  Trent  and  his  lieutenant,  John  Frazier  of 
Turtle  creek,  were  temporarily  absent,  the  handful  of  men,  who 
were  engaged  in  building  a  fort  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  were 
surprised  by  an  overwhelming  force  of  French  and  Indians,  who 
came  upon  them  by  way  of  the  Allegheny  river  in  a  large  fleet  of 
canoes.  They  were  commanded  by  De  Contrecoeur.  Ensign 
Ward,  who  was  the  only  officer  on  the  spot,  sought  to  delay  a 
surrender  until  he  could  communicate  with  his  superiors,  but  the 
French  commander  brooked  no  delay  whatever,  and  the  unfortu- 
nate Virginian  reluctantly  withdrew  with  his  men,  and  the  French 
at  once  set  about  building  a  fort,  to  which,  in  honor  of  the  gov- 
ernor-general of  Canada,  they  gave  the  name  of  Duquesne. 

On  the  25th  of  April  Ward  reached  the  camp  of  Washington, 
on  Will's  creek,  bearing  the  news  of  what  had  befallen  his  party. 
The  plan  for  the  advance  was  forthwith  changed.  Instead  of 
going  directly  to  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  Washington  decided  to 
cut  his  way  through  the  forest  to  the  mouth  of  Redstone  creek. 
While  thus  engaged,  on  the  evening  of  May  27th  an  Indian  run- 
ner came  to  the  commander  with  the  information  that  a  party  of 
French  soldiers  were  hidden  in  a  ravine  near  by.  Washington, 
accompanied  by  forty  men,  set  out  to  investigate.  When  the 
Frenchmen  flew  to  arms  at  his  approach  he  gave  the  order  to  fire. 
Monsieur  Jumonville,  the  officer  in  command,  was  killed,  with 
nine  of  his  men.  The  rest  were  taken  prisoners,  with  a  single 
exception.  When  on  this  memorable  night  Washington  gave  the 
command  to  "Fire!"   says  Bancroft,   "that  word  of  command 

407 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

kindled  the  world  into  a  flame.  It  was  the  signal  for  the  first 
great  war  of  revolution.  Here  in  the  western  forest  began  the 
battle  which  was  to  banish  from  the  soil  and  neighborhood  of  our 
republic  the  institutions  of  the  middle  age  and  to  inflict  on  them 
fatal  wounds  throughout  the  continent  of  Europe." 

Realizing  that  he  might  certainly  expect  to  be  attacked  in 
force  by  the  French,  Washington,  upon  whom  the  chief  command 
now  devolved,  owing  to  the  death  of  Colonel  Fry  at  Will's  creek, 
fell  back  to  a  bit  of  meadow  land  under  the  shadow  of  the  Laurel 
Ridge,  and  here  entrenched  himself,  calling  the  spot  Fort  Neces- 
sity. His  anticipations  were  fully  realized  when,  on  the  3d  of 
July,  De  Villiers,  the  brother  of  Jumonville,  appeared  with  a  force 
of  nine  hundred  men,  completely  outnumbering  the  Virginians, 
though  by  this  time  Washington  had  gathered  a  force  of  nearly 
four  hundred  into  his  command.  The  battle  lasted  all  day  until 
night  fell.  The  French  fired  from  the  cover  of  the  woods  and 
rising  ground.  The  rain  came  down  at  times  in  torrents.  In  the 
dark  the  French  sent  a  flag  of  truce  and  proposed  a  parley.  The 
result  was  an  agreement  by  which  Washington  was  permitted  to 
retire  with  the  honors  of  war  upon  the  condition  that  he  would 
surrender  his  artillery  and  give  hostages  for  the  delivery  in  safety 
of  the  prisoners  who  had  been  taken  in  the  affair  with  Jumon- 
ville. Captains  Vanbraam  and  Stobo  were  chosen  as  the  hostages. 
Their  names  are  borne  to-day  by  streets  in  Pittsburgh.  Unfortu- 
nately the  Virginian  authorities  refused  to  recognize  the  agree- 
ment made  between  the  French  commander  and  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Washington,  and  for  weary  years  Vanbraam  and  Stobo 
were  held  as  prisoners  in  Canada,  though  in  the  end  the  latter 
made  his  escape  from  captivity  in  a  most  romantic  manner. 

The  news  of  the  defeat  of  Washington  carried  dismay  into 
Virginia,  and  the  house  of  burgesses  at  once  voted  twenty  thou- 
sand pounds  to  the  governor  for  the  defense  of  the  frontier.  The 
assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  however,  dominated  by  men  who, 
while   professing   loyalty,    refused   altogether   to   act,    disgraced 

408 


Independence  Hall,   Philadelphia,   Restored 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENFIRONS 

itself  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  by  its  supine  indifference  to  th-^ 
French  invasion,  and  finally  adjourned  the  session,  which  had  been 
convened  by  Governor  Hamilton,  after  voting  five  thousand 
pounds  toward  defraying  the  expenses  of  accommodating  "the 
king's  troops,"  should  any  ever  be  sent. 

The  English  government  realized  the  peril  which  threatened 
the  colonies  at  the  time  better  than  the  trade-loving  Quakers  and 
squabbling  politicians  of  Philadelphia,  and  resolved  to  take  steps 
to  protect  the  frontier.  Two  regiments  of  regular  infantry,  the 
Forty-fourth,  under  Sir  Peter  Halket,  and  the  Forty-eighth, 
under  Colonel  Thomas  Dunbar,  were  sent  to  Virginia,  there  to  be 
reinforced  by  colonial  troops,  and  the  command  of  the  whole  force 
was  given  to  Major-General  Edward  Braddock.  With  the  story 
of  his  memorable  defeat  every  schoolboy  is  familiar.  Where  to- 
day the  towering  chimneys  of  great  furnaces  and  the  thickly 
planted  houses  of  thousands  of  men  cover  the  ground  was  enacted 
on  the  9th  day  of  June,  1755,  a  most  tragic  scene.  The  advance 
guard  of  the  army  of  Braddock  was  practically  annihilated,  after 
a  most  gallant  and  stubborn  defense.  Sir  Peter  Halket  was  killed. 
Braddock  was  carried  dying  from  the  field.  Washington  alone 
was  left  to  assume  command,  though  he  had  had  two  horses 
wounded  and  one  killed  under  him  and  had  several  bullet-holes 
through  his  clothes,  one  of  them  in  his  hat.  Few  prisoners  were 
taken  by  the  French  and  Indians.  The  wounded  were  killed  and 
scalped  on  the  field,  and  a  dozen  men  who  were  able  to  walk  were 
dragged  to  the  fort  and  there  burned  alive  on  the  banks  of  the 
Allegheny,  a  little  above  the  point  where  it  joins  the  Ohio.  The 
broken  remnant  returned  to  the  camp  of  Colonel  Dunbar,  where 
Washington  buried  the  dead  body  of  the  commander.  Dunbar 
was  not  made  of  the  same  stuff  as  Braddock,  Halket,  and  Wash- 
ington. The  shameful  manner  in  which  he  failed  to  even  try  to  re- 
trieve the  defeat,  or  to  protect  the  frontier,  is  a  matter  of  common 
knowledge.  As  soon  as  he  could,  he  made  off  with  his  regulars 
to  Philadelphia.     Placed  in  command  of  about  twelve  hundred 

411 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

men  by  the  authorities  of  Virginia,  the  duty  of  defending  the 
frontier  devolved  upon  Washington.  But  the  force  was  inade- 
quate to  the  task.  Meanwhile  the  politicians  of  Pennsylvania  did 
nothing  but  squabble  with  the  governor,  who  had  asked  them  for 
help.  The  western  borders  of  the  settlements  in  Virginia  and 
Pennsylvania  were  devastated  by  the  savages.  Hundreds  of  men, 
women,  and  children  were  butchered  in  cold  blood.  The  Indians, 
growing  bold  upon  meeting  no  organized  resistance  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, carried  their  raids  east  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  to  within 
two  days'  march  of  Philadelphia,  where  the  assembly  was  sitting. 
At  last  this  unenlightened  body  was  compelled  by  popular  indig- 
nation to  act,  and,  upon  the  gift  of  five  thousand  pounds  for  the 
defense  of  the  colony  by  the  proprietaries,  voted  supplies,  which 
enabled  Governor  Morris  to  take  steps  for  the  fortification  of  the 
borders.  But  two  years,  nevertheless,  passed  before  anything 
really  was  accomplished  to  retrieve  Braddock's  defeat.  The  only 
bright  spot  in  the  story  of  these  years  is  the  brave  advance  of 
Colonel  John  Armstrong  across  the  Alleghanies  and  through  the 
wilderness  from  Huntington  to  Kittanning,  where  he  succeeded 
in  surprising  and  defeating  the  Indians,  who  had  long  made  the 
spot  a  center  from  which  to  carry  on  raids  against  the  eastern 
settlements. 

In  the  year  1757  William  Pitt  became  the  prime  minister  of 
England.  The  advent  of  "the  great  commoner"  to  the  head  of 
affairs  marked  an  immediate  change.  Effective  steps  to  curb  the 
aggressions  of  the  enemies  of  Great  Britain  in  every  quarter  were 
taken.  One  of  the  measures  resolved  upon  was  an  expedition 
against  the  Erench  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio.  The  command  was 
given  to  Brigadier-General  John  Eorbes. 

After  many  delays  the  army,  on  Saturday,  November  25th, 
1758,  halted  amidst  the  smoking  ruins  of  Eort  Duquesne,  which 
the  French,  though  they  had  defeated  the  English  and  colonials 
under  Major  Grant  only  five  weeks  before,  had  incontinently  de- 
serted.      The  overwhelming  numbers  of  Forbes  led  them  to  feel 

412 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

that  safety  resided  in  flight,  and  down  the  Ohio  some  went  to 
seek  the  French  settlements  on  the  Wabash,  while  others  hurried 
up  the  Allegheny  on  the  road  to  Canada.  When  the  English  and 
colonial  army  halted  in  the  dusk  of  this  memorable  day  the  flag  of 
Great  Britain  was  raised  by  Colonel  Armstrong,  and  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Washington,  Forbes  called  the  place  Pittsburgh.  "It  is," 
says  Bancroft,  "the  most  enduring  monument  to  William  Pitt. 
America  raised  to  his  name  statues  that  have  been  wrongfully 
broken,  and  granite  piles,  of  which  not  one  stone  remains  upon 
another ;  but  long  as  the  Monongahela  and  the  Allegheny  shall 
flow  to  form  the  Ohio,  long  as  the  English  tongue  shall  be  the 
language  of  freedom  in  the  boundless  valley  which  their  waters 
traverse,  his  name  shall  stand  inscribed  on  the  gateway  of  the 
west." 

With  the  fall  of  Fort  Duquesne  ended  forever  the  occupation 
of  the  Ohio  Valley  by  the  French.  No  visible  trace  of  their  brief 
sojourn  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio  remains.  The  names  of  Du- 
quesne, De  Villiers,  Joncaire,  and  Junionville  are  borne  by  streets 
in  the  modern  city.  A  solitary  path  led  through  the  woods  from 
the  tort  to  an  opening  in  the  forest  locnted  where  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  and  Trinity  Episcopalian  Church  stand  to-day. 
Here  the  French  chaplain  buried  those  who  died  during  the 
French  occupation.  The  path  leading  to  this  resting  place  of  their 
dead  the  Roman  Catholic  occupants  of  the  fort  named,  after  the 
custom  of  their  mother-land  "I'allee  de  la  Vierge" — the  Way  of 
the  Virgin — a  name  perpetuated  in  Virgin  alley.  Duquesne  way 
and  Virgin  alley  survive  to  remind  the  denizens  of  modern  Pitts- 
burgh that  the  lilies  of  France  once  bloomed  over  her  soil.  This 
is  all. 

The  day  after  the  occupation  of  the  ruins  of  Fort  Duquesne 
was  Sunday.  A  thanksgiving  service  was  held,  at  which  the  chap- 
lain, Rev.  Charles  Beatty,^  preached  a  sermon,  the  first  Protestant 

^Rev.     Charles     Beatty     was     the     grand-        of   Steubenville,   Ohio,   who   was   during  his 
father   of  the   late    Rev.    Dr.    C.    C.    Beatty        lifetime  a  great  benefactor   of   Washington 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

service  held  upon  the  site  of  Pittsburgh.  The  work  of  erecting 
defences  and  winter  c[uarters  for  the  garrison,  who  were  to  occupy 
the  spot,  was  at  once  undertaken.  This  fort,  which  was  at  best  a 
rude  structure,  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela  a  short 
distance  east  of  the  ruins  of  Fort  Duquesne.  It  was  not  called 
Fort  Pitt.  This  name  was  first  applied  to  the  second  work  of 
defense,  which  was  begun  in  the  summer  of  the  year  1759  by 
General  Stanwix,  and  greatly  strengthened  afterwards  by  Colonel 
Bouquet. 

The  encroachments  of  the  white  settlers  upon  the  territory 
west  of  the  mountains  led  to  what  is  known  as  Pontiac's  Con- 
spiracy. Pontiac,  an  Ottawa  chief,  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary ability  among  his  race.  He  has  been  called  "the  Napoleon 
of  the  red  men."  Secretly  he  brought  about  between  the  various 
tribes  a  coalition,  having  as  its  object  the  expulsion  of  the  white 
man  from  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  region  of  the  Great 
Lakes.  When  his  plans  had  been  matured,  in  1763,  the  storm  of 
war  suddenly  fell  like  a  whirlwind  upon  the  frontier  posts. 
Everything  was  taken  by  the  Indians  except  the  forts  at  Detroit, 
Niagara,  and  Pittsburgh.  Fort  Pitt  endured  a  memorable  siege, 
the  troops  manning  it  being  under  the  command  of  Captain  Simon 
Ecuyer.  The  inhabitants  of  the  village,  which  had  grown  up 
about  the  fort,  had  taken  refuge  within  the  walls  and  the  houses 
surrounding  the  fort  had  been  razed.  The  siege  lasted  in  effect 
during  the  months  of  June,  July  and  the  first  week  of  August, 
accompanied  by  several  determined  assaults,  which  were  repulsed. 
The  garrison  and  the  refugees  within  the  walls  were  reduced  to 
the  point  of  starvation  when  the  siege  was  raised  by  the  appear- 
ance of  Colonel  Bouquet  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  force, 
accompanied  by  a  train  of  three  hundred  and  forty  pack-horses 
carrying  provisions  for  the  half-starved  people.    Bouquet  had  not 

and   Jefferson    College   and   of   the   Western        time   of   bis   death    those   of   any   other   indi- 
Theological     Seminary    in     Allegheny.     His        vidual. 
gifts   to   these   institutions  exceeded   at   the 

414 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

effected  the  relief  of  the  beleaguered  garrison  without  great  peril. 
On  the  5th  of  August,  at  Bushy  Run,  he  had  been  attacked  by  a 
large  body  of  Indians.  The  fight  lasted  all  that  day  and  the  next, 
and  it  appeared  as  if  the  tragedy  of  Braddock's  defeat  was  about 
to  be  re-enacted,  when,  by  a  happy  ruse,  the  Indians  were  pro- 
voked to  make  a  charge  in  a  body,  upon  which  they  were  adroitly 


Second  Edifice  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,    Pittsburgh,  built  1804 

Photographed   especially    for   this   work    from   a 
print  in  possession  of  IJr.   W.  J.  Holland 

flanked,  surrounded,  and  terribly  cut  up.  Bouquet  lost  one  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  men.  The  battle  of  Bushy  Run  was  the  most 
stubborn  battle  ever  fought  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  with  the 
Indians,  and  Bouquet's  victory  opened  the  doorway  to  the  west 
more  effectually  than  any  event  which  had  preceded  it. 

Upon  his  arrival  at  the  fort  Bouquet  at  once  set  himself  to 
strengthening  the  defences.  During  the  fall  of  1763  and  the 
spring  of  1764  he  labored  at  this  work,  and,  among  other  things, 


415 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

erected  the  redoubt,  or  "block-house,"  which  stands  to-day  the 
solitary  surviving  relic  of  that  time.  In  the  fall  of  1764,  with  a 
large  force,  he  pushed  his  way  westward  to  the  banks  of  the  Mus- 
kingum river,  and  so  awed  the  Indians  by  his  show  of  power,  and 
so  conciliated  them  by  his  demeanor,  that  they  consented  to  give 
up  to  him  between  two  and  three  hundred  whites,  whom  they  had 
carried  into  captivity,  and  to  negotiate  a  peace,  which  was  in  the 
main  well  kept  for  a  number  of  years. 

Pittsburgh  naturally  had  become  by  this  time  a  place  of  impor- 
tance upon  the  border.  Although  the  settlement  of  whites  within 
the  region  was  prohibited  and  those  who  took  up  holdings  were 
at  the  time  in  western  parlance  "squatters,"  traders,  hunters,  and 
craftsmen,  whose  services  were  needed  by  the  garrison,  were  con- 
tinually coming  and  going,  and  a  few  built  houses  for  themselves. 
To  facilitate  the  orderly  building  of  houses.  Colonel  John  Camp- 
bell, in  1764,  laid  out  a  "plan  of  lots"  covering  the  territory 
included  between  Water  and  Second  and  Market  and  Ferry 
streets.  This  survey  was  incorporated  in  those  subsequently  made, 
and  is  to-day  referred  to  in  all  deeds  covering  the  property  in 
this  small  area.  Of  these  old  houses  built  about  this  time  the  last 
survivor  was  torn  down  in  the  summer  of  1902.  It  stood  at  the 
corner  of  Water  street  and  Chancery  lane.  It  had  been  covered 
with  weather-boards  and  so  remodeled  as  to  conceal  from  the 
passers  by  its  true  character  as  a  log  cabin. 

For  a  few  years  after  this  the  references  to  the  place  are  com- 
paratively infrequent  in  extant  literature.  The  spot  was  visited  by 
a  number  of  persons  of  distinction,  among  them  by  no  less  a  per- 
sonage than  Colonel  George  Washington,  who,  on  a  journey  to 
what  is  now  West  Virginia,  stopped  in  Pittsburgh  both  going  and 
returning.  His  account  of  the  place  shows  it  to  have  been  only  a 
frontier  hamlet  of  very  small  size. 

In  1772  the  royal  authorities  resolved  to  cease  to  hold  Fort 
Pitt  as  a  military  outpost,  and  it  was  sold  and  the  garrison  with- 
drawn.    Before  the  works  had  been  entirely  demolished  by  the 

416 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

purchasers  they  were  seized  by  Dr.  John  Connolly,  partly  recon- 
structed, and  called  Fort  Dunmore.  This  happened  in  the  year 
1774.  Connolly  was  the  tool  and  agent  of  the  Earl  of  Dunmore, 
who,  in  1772,  had  been  appointed  the  governor  of  Virginia.  Vir- 
ginia, in  virtue  of  the  royal  charters  of  1607  and  1609,  laid  claim 
to  the  region  as  against  the  proprietaries  of  Pennsylvania.  A 
controversy  as  to  the  boundary  between  the  two  colonies  had  long 
gone  on,  and  the  Earl  of  Dunmore  resolved  to  assert  what  he 
conceived  to  be  the  right  of  Virginia  to  the  region,  by  force,  if 
necessary.  The  territory  covering  southwestern  Pennsylvania  as 
far  north  as  Kittanning  on  the  Allegheny  river  and  the  upper  por- 
tion of  what  is  now  known  as  the  State  of  West  Virginia  were 
designated  by  the  Virginia  authorities  as  the  district,  or  county, 
of  West  Augusta.  Dr.  Connolly,  as  the  agent  of  Dunmore,  hav- 
ing seized  the  fort  at  Pittsburgh,  as  we  have  seen,  issued  a  procla- 
mation calling  upon  the  inhabitants  to  recognize  the  authority  of 
the  governor  of  Virginia.  Arthur  St.  Clair,  who  was  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Penns,  for  answer  had  the  redoubtable  doctor 
arrested  and  jailed  at  Hannastown,  the  county  seat  of  Westmore- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  which  at  that  time  covered  the  whole 
of  the  disputed  territory  which  lay  within  the  boundaries  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Connolly,  however,  soon  gave  bail,  and  then  returned 
at  the  next  term  of  court  with  a  small  army  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men,  arrested  the  justices,  declared  the  court 
illegal,  and  packed  off  his  prisoners  to  jail  in  Staunton,  Vir- 
ginia. Then  followed  a  heated  correspondence  between  the  Penns 
and  Governor  Dunmore.  Connolly  meanwhile  carried  on  affairs 
in  western  Pennsylvania  to  suit  himself.  A  court  was  established 
at  Fort  Dunmore,  or  Pittsburgh,  where  Connolly  had  established 
himself,  and  so  thoroughly  did  he  succeed  in  brow-beating  and 
harassing  the  people  that  the  little  town  presently  was  nearly  for- 
saken of  its  inhabitants.  The  few  who  remained  seriously  con- 
templated abandoning  the  spot  and  establishing  themselves  else- 
where.    Afifairs  dragged  along  in  this  way  until  the  outbreak  of 

3-27  417 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &   FEDERAL 

the  Revolutionary  war,  when  Dunmore  betook  himself  to  flight, 
and  shortly  afterwards  Connolly  was  arrested  for  treasonable 
practices  and  kept  a  prisoner  by  order  of  the  Continental  Congress 
until  1780,  when  he  left  for  Canada,  where  subsequently  he  lived 
and  died.  Though  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  and  a  nephew  of 
George  Croghan,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Pittsburgh,  whose 
name  is  held  in  high  esteem  in  the  commufity  which  in  the  early 
days  he  did  much  to  defend,  Dr.  Connolly  was  a  mischief-maker 
and  an  enemy  of  the  community,  by  whom  his  memory  is  justly 
held  in  light  esteem.  The  flight  of  Dunmore  and  the  imprison- 
ment of  Connolly,  the  tory  tyrant,  did  not,  however,  put  an  end 
to  the  boundary  controversy  between  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania. 
Virginian  courts  continued  to  be  held  on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania 
until  1780.^  In  that  year  the  controversy  was  ended  by  the  some- 
what reluctant  consent  of  Virginia  to  the  ratification  of  the  finding 
of  a  boundary  commission,  which  had  been  formally  approved  by 
Pennsylvania  the  year  before,  and  which  gave  to  the  latter  Com- 
monwealth the  territorial  definition  which  it  has  ever  since  held 
upon  the  map  of  the  continent. 

The  stirring  days  of  the  American  Revolution  found  the  people 
of  western  Pennsylvania,  though  few  in  numbers,  ready  to  do 
their  part  on  behalf  of  the  cause  of  liberty.  As  early  as  May, 
1775,  the  people  of  Westmoreland  county,  which,  under  the 
administration  of  the  Penns,  covered  the  entire  western  portion 
of  the  State,  held  a  meeting  at  Hannastown,  the  county  seat,  and 
in  unequivocal  terms  declared  their  willingness  and  intention  to 
resist  by  force  of  arms  any  attempt  by  the  king  of  England  to 
enforce  the  unjust  acts  of  parliament  which  had  recently  been 
passed.     A  body  of  armed  frontiersmen,  commanded  by  Captain 

'The  records  of  the  court  of  the   District  The    courts   of   this   county   were   sometimes 

of    West    Augusta    held    at    Fort    Dunmore  held    in    Pittsburgh,    more    generally    at    va- 

have  recently  been  published  in  the  Annals  rious    places    in    what    is    now    Washington 

of  the  Carnegie  Museum.     The  District  was  County,   Pennsylvania.     The  records  of  Yo- 

divided   in    1776   into   the   counties  of   Ohio,  hogania  county  will  shortly  be  published  in 

Monongalia,      and      Yohogania.     Yohogania  the  Annals  of  the  Carnegie  Museum, 
county   covered   southwestern    Pennsylvania. 

418 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

Samuel  Moorhead,  was  gathered,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
struggle  was  stationed  at  Kittanning.  Captain  Neville  arrived 
with  a  body  of  troops  from  Virginia  and  took  possession  of  Fort 
Pitt.  For  a  time  there  was  quiet  on  the  border,  for  not  long 
before  a  treaty  of  peace  had  been  made  by  Colonel  Morgan  with 
the  Indians  in  the  immediate  neighborhood.  The  first  alarm 
indicating  that   the   English   commandant   at   Detroit   was   suc- 


Old  Fashioned  Oil  Lamps  in  use  in  Pioneer  Households 

Photographed  especially  for  this  work  from  the 
originals  in  the  Carnegie  Museum,  Pittsburgh 

ceeding  in  his  efforts  to  incite  the  Indians  to  take  up  arms  against 
the  settlers  occurred  in  July,  1776,  when  Captain  Fergus  Moor- 
head, who  had  temporarily  commanded  the  troop  of  militia  at 
Kittanning  during  the  illness  of  his  brother  Samuel,  was  at- 
tacked at  Blanket  Hill,  his  companion  Simpson  was  killed,  his 
horse  was  shot  under  him,  and  he  was  captured  and  marched 
through  the  forests  to  Quebec  and  given  over  as  a  prisoner  to  the 
British.  From  this  time  forward  the  scenes  of  the  previous 
decade  were  repeated.  The  border  was  the  theater  of  numerous 
massacres  and  bloody  reprisals.     Pittsburgh,  though  left  in  quiet. 


419 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

became  the  center  from  which  operations  were  carried  on  against 
the  British  at  Detroit  and  against  the  Indians  on  the  Allegheny 
and  the  Ohio  and  its  western  affluents.  The  fort  was  held  during 
the  Revolutionary  war  in  succession  by  Captain  Neville,  Generals 
Hand  and  Mcintosh,  and  Colonel  Daniel  Brodhead.  The  latter 
was  succeeded,  in  1781,  by  Colonel  Gibson,  who  shortly  delivered 
over  the  command  to  General  William  Irvine.  This  year  was 
made  memorable  by  the  ill-fated  expedition  of  General  George 
Rogers  Clarke  of  Virginia  against  Detroit.  One  portion  of  his 
command,  consisting  of  one  hundred  men,  gathered  in  West- 
moreland county  and  commanded  by  Colonel  Lochry,  was  anni- 
hilated at  the  mouth  of  the  Miami.  In  the  following  year 
Hannastown,  the  county  seat,  was  attacked  by  the  Indians  and 
destroyed,  though  the  stockade  in  which  the  settlers  had  taken 
refuge  held  out  against  their  attack.  A  dark  and  dreadful  deed 
was  committed  in  this  year  by  the  exasperated  men  of  the  border. 
Unjustly  considering  that  the  Christian  Indians  who  had  been 
settled  by  the  Moravian  missionary,  Heckewelder,  at  Gnaden- 
huetten,  on  the  Tuscarawas,  were  harboring  and  aiding  the 
hostile  savages  who  were  carrying  on  raids  against  the  settle- 
ments, a  company  of  eighty  men  set  out  from  Washington 
county.  Pa.,  for  the  mission.  They  found  the  Indians  peaceably 
at  work  in  their  fields,  assured  them  that  they  had  come  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  them,  induced  the  few  who  had  arms  to 
give  them  up,  promising  that  they  would  on  the  morrow  take 
them  with  them  to  Fort  Pitt.  The  Indians  were  then  assembled 
in  the  chapel,  the  doors  were  locked  upon  them  and  a  guard  set, 
and  on  the  morrow  their  brains  were  dashed  out  with  mallets  and 
the  chapel  was  burned  over  their  dead  bodies.  The  citizens  of 
Ohio  have  erected  a  stately  monument  on  the  spot,  but  no  monu- 
ment can  atone  for  the  disgrace  brought  upon  western  Pennsyl- 
vania by  this  deed  of  cruelty. 

Shortly  afterwards  it  was  resolved  to  organize  an  expedition 
against  the  Indians  at   Sandusky.     Colonel  David  Williamson, 

420 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

who  had  headed  the  party  from  Washington  county  that  had  de- 
stroyed the  Christian  village  in  Ohio,  strove  for  the  command, 
but  Colonel  William  Crawford  was  finally  chosen  to  lead  the 
expedition.  As  if  in  just  retribution  for  the  enormities  perpe- 
trated by  some  of  the  men  under  him  at  Gnadenhuetten,  his  troops 
met  with  miserable  defeat,  and  the  Indians  burned  Crawford  at 
the  stake. 

These  events  took  place  just  as  the  Revolutionary  war  was 
drawing  to  its  close.  Cornwallis  surrendered  his  army  in  Octo- 
l)er,  1 78 1,  but  border  hostilities  did  not  cease,  nor  was  a  formal 
treaty  of  peace  concluded  betw^een  the  colonies  and  Great  Britain 
until  the  third  day  of  September,  1783.  When  the  war  ended 
and  the  armies  of  the  colonies  were  disbanded,  a  number  of  the 
officers  who  had  become  acquainted  with  western  Pennsylvania 
during  their  term  of  service  upon  the  border  elected  to  make 
Pittsburgh  their  home.  They  were  men  of  influence  and  enter- 
prise, and  although  the  society  of  the  little  frontier  settlement 
was  rude  and  the  community  was  full  of  rough  frontiersmen, 
trappers,  traders,  and  boatmen,  the  presence  of  these  distinguished 
men  imparted  a  touch  of  refinement  to  the  early  life  of  the  settle- 
ment. Among  those  who  remained  and  laid  the  foundations  of 
fortune  for  themselves  and  their  descendants  in  the  region  were 
General  O'Hara,  General  Richard  Butler,  General  Neville,  Major 
Isaac  Craig,  and  Colonel  Stephen  Bayard.  There  were  at  this 
time  in  Pittsburgh  about  one  hundred  houses,  all  of  them  built 
of  logs  and  situated  in  immediate  proximity  to  Fort  Pitt,  which, 
in  spite  of  its  occu])ation  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  had  been 
allowed  to  fall  into  a  very  dilapidated  condition.  The  accounts 
of  the  place  that  have  come  down  to  us  represent  Pittsburgh  as 
having  been  a  sink  of  iniquity.  The  famous  and  oft-quoted 
description  of  Pittsburgh  given  by  Arthur  Lee  of  Virginia,  who 
visited  the  spot  in  1781,  is  worthy  of  being  recalled.  Lee  says: 
"Pittsburgh  is  inhabited  almost  entirely  by  Scots  and  Irish,  who 
live  in  paltry  log  houses  and  are  as  dirty  as  in  the  north  of  Ire- 

421 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

land,  or  even  in  Scotland.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  small  trade 
carried  on,  the  goods  being  brought  at  the  vast  expense  of  forty 
shillings  per  hundredweight  from  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore. 
They  take  in  the  shops  money,  wheat,  flour,  and  skins.  There  are 
in  the  town  four  attorneys,  two  doctors,  and  not  a  priest  of  any 
persuasion,  nor  church  nor  chapel,  so  that  they  are  likely  to  be 
damned  without  the  benefit  of  clergy." 

The  four  attorneys  mentioned  by  Arthur  Lee  no  doubt 
included  Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge,  who  came  to  Pittsburgh  in 
1 78 1.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  at 
Princeton,  having  been  a  classmate  there  of  James  Madison  and 
others  who  became  distinguished  leaders  in  their  day.  Bracken- 
ridge was  a  man  of  literary  taste  and  culture,  whose  romance, 
entitled  "Modern  Chivalry,"  is  still  remembered  as  one  of  the 
better  works  produced  in  the  infant  period  of  American  literature. 
He  did  not  share  the  views  of  Arthur  Lee,  but  his  sanguine  soul 
foresaw  in  the  rude  collection  of  log  cabins  nestling  between  the 
rivers  the  kernel  from  which  would  develop  in  time  a  mighty 
municipality,  as  the  oak  is  developed  from  the  acorn.  Right 
bravely  and  assiduously  he  labored  with  others  to  bring  about  the 
realization  of  his  dreams.  The  early  columns  of  the  Pittsburgh 
Gazette,  which  began  to  be  published  in  the  latter  part  of  July, 
1786,  as  a  weekly  journal,  was  seized  upon  by  Brackenridge  as  a 
happy  vehicle  for  the  communication  of  his  thoughts  to  his  fellow 
men,  and,  having  been  elected  to  represent  the  district  in  the 
legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  he  used  the  columns  of  the  paper  as 
a  medium  in  which  to  acquaint  his  fellow  citizens  with  his  hopes 
and  anticipations.  He  was  the  author  of  a  series  of  essays,  en- 
titled, "Observations  on  the  Country  at  the  Head  of  the  Ohio 
River,"  which  ran  through  a  number  of  issues  in  the  Gazette.  In 
these  he  contended  earnestly  for  the  removal  of  the  county  seat 
from  Hannastown  to  Pittsburgh,  for  the  establishment  of  the 
institutions  of  religion,  and  for  the  foundation  of  a  school.  Sub- 
sequently, in  1787,  when  representing  the  district  in  the  legisla- 

422 


s'5 


^ffi 


S      Q^ 


C/3 
O 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 


ture  of  Pennsylvania,  he  Ijroni^ht  about  the  passage  of  an  act 
incorporating  a  school  called  "The  Pittsburgh  Academy,"  which 
was  the  first  school  legally  chartered  in  the  whole  region  from 
the  crest  of  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Pacific,  and  which  still  survives 
the  vicissitudes  of  time  as  the  Western  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  secured  the  passage  of  an 
act  incorporating  the  Presbyterian  Congre- 
gation of  the  town  of  Pittsburgh.  Among 
its  trustees  is  named  its  pastor,  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Barr,  who  first  came  to  Pittsburgh 
in  1785,  atoning  by  his  coming  for  the  lack 
of  clergymen  noted  by  Arthur  Lee  in  the 
previous  year.  Mr.  Barr  was  a  public- 
spirited  man  and  a  protege  of  the  versatile 
and  very  worldly  author  of  "Modern  Chiv- 
alry." This  fact  probably  caused  the 
clergy,  a  handful  of  whom  had  organized 
the  Presbytery  of  Redstone,  to  hesitate  to 
install  the  Rev.  Mr.  Barr  over  the  infant 
congregation.  Their  scruples  were,  how- 
ever, happily  overcome,  though  at  that  time 
and  for  some  years  subsequently  Pittsburgh 
was  not  regarded  by  the  saints  who  dwelt 
on  the  Catfish,  at  Upper  Buffalo,  and  Ten- 
Mile  Creek,  as  furnishing  favorable  soil,  in 
which  to  plant  the  seeds  either  of  scholarship  or  religion.  Godli- 
ness kept  to  the  hills  in  those  early  days,  and  it  was  said  that  the 
Presbyterian  preachers  were  afraid  to  come  to  Pittsburgh,  lest 
they  should  be  reviled  and  persecuted.  There  were,  however, 
some  nuble  men  belonging  to  the  ranks  of  the  ministry  already 
laboring  in  the  valley  of  the  Monongahela.  They  organized 
frontier  churches,  they  established  schools,  and  the  fruits  of  their 
labors  proved  in  the  end  to  be  a  harvest  of  good,  in  which  not 


Joseph   Mockton 

Author  of  The  Western  Cal- 
culator, first  text  book  pub- 
lished west  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains ;  principal  of  the 
Pittsburgh  Academy  when  it 
was  re-incorporated  as  The 
Western  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. By  courtesy  of  Dr. 
W.  J.Holland 


425 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

merely  the  immediate  neighborhood,  but  the  nation  and  the  world 
at  large  have  shared. 

The  Revolution  terminated  the  relations  which  the  descend- 
ants of  Penn  held  to  the  colony  as  proprietors.  The  Common- 
wealth of  Pennsylvania,  in  1779,  while  declaring  that  the  Penns, 
as  partisans  of  the  crown,  had  forfeited  their  claims,  nevertheless 
agreed  to  pay  them  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
pounds  sterling  and  to  allow  them  to  retain  in  their  possession 
certain  tracts  of  land,  which  had  been  laid  out  from  time  to  time, 
and  to  which  they  had  given  the  name  of  "manors."  There  were 
forty-four  of  these  manors,  each  of  which  comprised  several  thou- 
sand acres.  In  the  aggregate  the  manors  contained  421,015  acres. 
One  of  these  manors  was  the  "Manor  of  Pittsburgh,"  which  had 
been  surveyed  on  the  19th  of  May,  1769.  The  survey  covered 
5766  acres,  with  an  allowance  of  six  per  cent,  for  roads.  It 
included  the  territory  between  the  Allegheny  and  the  Mononga- 
hela  as  far  east  as  Two-Mile  Run  (Soho),  and  covered  a  portion 
of  the  territory  on  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela  on  the  south  side 
of  that  river.  In  1783  the  lines  of  this  manor  were  resurveyed  by 
George  Woods,  and  in  the  following  year  he  laid  out  the  town  of 
Pittsburgh,  incorporating  in  his  survey  the  plan  of  military  lots 
which  had  been  surveyed  by  Campbell.  In  this  survey  five  lots 
were  reserved  and  set  apart  for  houses  of  worship  and  places  of 
burial.  The  first  house  of  worship  erected  on  these  lots  was  a 
building  of  squared  timber  which  stood  on  the  spot  where  to-day 
stands  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  at  the  corner  of  Wood 
street  and  Virgin  alley.  Here,  where  the  French  garrison  had 
buried  their  dead,  the  red  men,  long  before  their  day,  had  also 
buried  their  dead,  and  one  of  the  ancient  Indian  mounds,  of  which, 
the  valley  of  the  Ohio  is  full,  occupied  the  ground  where  to-day 
stands  Trinity  Episcopal  Church.  Another  occupied  the  top  of 
the  hill  where  the  Allegheny  County  Court  House  stands. 

The  laying  out  of  the  town  of  Pittsburgh  was  presently  fol- 
lowed by  an  increase  in  the  population,   which  was  stimulated 

426 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

when  the  general  government,  in  the  year  17S7,  took  over  what 
was  known  as  the  Northwest  Territory,  ont  of  which  have  been 
carved  the  great  States  lying  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Missis- 
sippi.    The  waves  of  migration  from  the  east  to  the  west  began 
to  flow  toward  this  region,  the  fame  of  which  had  spread  along 
the  seaboard.     Pittsburgh  became  the  focal  point  toward  which 
the  feet  of  those  essaying  to  enter  the  west  tended.     The  village 
which  numbered,  in  1785,  about  f^ve  hundred  souls,  grew,  until 
in  1790,  five  years  afterwards,  the  population  had  nearly  doubled. 
Allegheny  county  was  formed  by  acts  of  assembly,  passed  on 
September  24,   1788,  and  September  17th,   1789,  out  of  West- 
moreland county,   and  a  narrow   strip  along  the  Monongahela 
taken  from  Washington  county,  which  had  been,  in  1781,  erected 
out  of  Westmoreland.     Subsequently  all  the  territory  north  of  the 
Ohio  and  west  of  the  Allegheny  river  was  added  to  the  county. 
This  area,  more  than  twice  the  size  of  the  kingdom  of  Holland, 
was  subsequently  (on  March  12,1800,)  subdivided,  and  eight  new 
counties  were  formed,  though  courts  were  not  at  once  established 
in  all  of  them.    The  counties  taken  from  Allegheny  by  this  act  are 
the    following:      Armstrong,    Beaver,    Butler.    Crawford,    Erie, 
Lawrence,  Mercer,  Warren,  and  Venango.     The  county  seat  was 
located    at    Pittsburgh.     The    entire    population    of    the    county 
included  within  its  extreme  limits  was,  in  1790.  ten  thousand  and 
three  hundred  and  nine  persons.     Small  towns  had  already  begun 
to  spring  up  through  the  region,  and  in  the  last  decade  of  the 
eighteenth  century  their  growth,  though  slow,  was  considerable. 
Brownsville,  in  Fayette  county,  which  was  set  off  from  West- 
moreland in  1783,  being  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Monon- 
gahela, affected  at  the  time  to  rival  Pittsburgh  as  a  place  of  com- 
mercial importance.     Elizabeth.  McKeesport,  Robb's  Town,  later 
known  as  West  Newton,  and  Alleghenytown,  opposite  Pittsburgh, 
begin  to  be  heard  of  about  this  time.     Canonsburg  and  Washing- 
ton, the  county  seat  of  the  county  of  the  same  name,  had  been 
already  located  and  contained  a  few  houses.     Beaver  had  already 

427 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

for  several  years  been  a  place  of  importance  as  the  site  of  Fort 
Mcintosh,  which,  with  Fort  Pitt,  served  as  a  base  for  operations 
against  the  Engiish  at  Detroit  and  their  Indian  allies  in  the  west- 
ern portion  of  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio. 

Whatever  small  rivalries  may  have  existed  in  these  early  days 
were  of  little  avail  against  the  natural  resources  of  the  location, 
and  the  town  at  the  junction  of  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela 
continued  to  grow.  Manufacturing  was  commenced  at  a  very 
early  date,  but  on  an  extremely  small  scale.  The  establishments 
in  existence  were  nothing  more  than  small  shops,  in  which  light 
hardware  and  articles  of  household  use  were  made.  The  presence 
of  a  vast  supply  of  mineral  fuel  in  the  region  was  known  at  a  very 
early  date.  In  the  map  of  Fort  Pitt,  made  by  the  engineer  in 
charge  of  the  works  in  1763,  the  original  of  wdiich  is  preserved  in 
the  King's  Library  of  the  British  Museum,  and  a  copy  of  which 
may  be  consulted  at  the  Carnegie  Museum,  there  is  shown  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  Monongahela,  at  a  point  nearly  opposite  the 
fort,  the  opening  of  a  "coal  mine."  In  1766  Rev.  Charles  Beatty 
records,  upon  the  occasion  of  a  visit  he  paid  to  the  spot,  that  the 
garrison  of  the  fort  was  supplied  with  fuel  from  this  mine.  This 
was  in  all  probability  the  first  bituminous  coal  mine  opened  in  the 
region,  and  it  was  situated  in  Pittsburgh  as  originally  laid  out  by 
the  surveyor.  Other  mines  in  the  immediate  vicinity  were  pres- 
ently opened,  and  in  1789  the  smoky  atmosphere  of  the  town  be- 
came the  subject  of  comment  on  the  part  of  Major  Samuel  For- 
man,  who  visited  the  place.  The  title  of  "The  Smoky  City"  may 
be  to-day  fairly  shared  with  Pittsburgh  by  other  great  communi- 
ties in  the  Mississippi  basin  which  depend  upon  supplies  of  bitu- 
minous coal  for  fuel,  but  Pittsburgh  has  been  from  its  very 
infancy  a  center  of  smoke.  Little  of  the  smoke  arising  in  the  early 
days  of  which  we  are  speaking  was  due  to  the  manufacture  of 
iron.  Aside  from  some  small  manufacturing  of  hardware,  such  as 
kitchen  utensils,  locks,  bolts,  hinges,  and  cutlery,  there  was  nothing 
produced  at  this  time  to  give  more  than  a  faint  adumbration  of 

428 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

the  greatness  io  which  the  i)lace  was  destined  to  rise  as  the  center 
of  the  iron-working  inchistry  of  the  world.  The  first  furnace  for 
the  production  of  iron  in  western  F'ennsylvania  was  erected  by  a 
Pittsburgh  firm  (Turnbuh,  Marniie,  &  Co.)  on  Jacob's  creek,  in 
Fayette  county,  a  little  above  the  point  where  that  stream  enters 


First  mayor  of  Pittsburgh,  1816.  Photographed 
especially  for  this  work  from  an  engraving  in 
possession  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Holland 

the  Youghiogheny.  The  name  of  the  establishment  was  the 
Alliance  Iron  Works.  It  was  operated  more  or  less  irregularly 
for  twelve  years  from  1790.  Here  were  cast  a  portion  of  the 
cannon  balls  which  were  carried  by  General  Anthony  Wayne  with 
him  on  his  famous  expedition  against  the  western  Indians.  These 
cannon  balls  were  the  first  contributions  made  by  a  Pittsburgh 
firm  to  the  national  munitions  of  war.    They  were,  like  the  scythes 


429 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

and  hatchets  made  in  Pittsburgh  at  the  time,  only  a  faint  hint  of 
what  the  mighty  industrial  development  of  a  later  day  was  des- 
tined to  produce.  All  the  iron  consumed  here  prior  to  the  venture 
of  Turnbull  &  Marmie  had  been  brought  over  the  mountains  on 
pack-horses.  The  first  furnace  for  the  manufacture  of  pig^-iron 
within  the  limits  of  the  present  city  of  Pittsburgh  was  built  in 
1792  by  George  Anshutz  at  a  point  about  four  hundred  feet  south- 
east of  the  present  site  of  the  Shadyside  station  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad.  It  was  supposed  that  the  deposit  of  red  shale  to 
be  seen  to-day  at  the  cutting  in  the  railroad  was  rich  enough  in 
iron  to  permit  of  the  operation  of  the  establishment,  but  this  was 
found  not  to  be  the  case,  and,  after  being  operated  for  two  years 
in  an  unremunerative  way  with  ore  brought  from  a  distance,  it 
was  abandoned  in  1794,  though  its  enterprising  owner  long  con- 
tinued to  be  one  of  the  best  known  producers  and  manufacturers 
of  ironware  in  the  city  for  more  than  forty  years  afterwards.  The 
furnaces  at  Jacob's  Creek  and  at  Shadyside  were  charcoal  fur- 
naces. The  possibility  of  converting  the  Pittsburgh  coal  into 
coke  and  employing  it  in  the  manufacture  of  pig  metal  was  not 
realized  until  so  recently  as  1859,  and  then  first  was  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  the  supremacy  of  the  Pittsburgh  district  as  a  center  for 
the  production  of  iron  and  steel.  The  principal  industry  of  the 
town  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  boat-building. 
The  abundant  supply  of  timber  on  the  banks  of  the  streams,  and 
the  needs  of  the  westward  migrating  population,  made  the  busi- 
ness profitable.  The  boats  built  were  flat-boats  and  keel-boats, 
which  were  principally  carried  by  the  current  and  guided  by  long 
sweeps.  They  served  for  a  downward  voyage,  but  never  returned. 
After  their  cargoes  had  been  sold  and  their  passengers  landed,  they 
were  sold  as  lumber  at  lower  river  ports,  while  those  who  had 
gone  with  them  and  desired  to  return,  came  back  in  lighter  row- 
boats,  on  foot,  or  by  horse.  A  long  procession  of  these  "Kentucky 
boats,"  as  they  were  styled,  was  swallowed  up  by  the  great  river 
flowing  west  and  south.     The  building  of  these  craft  paved  the 

430 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

way  for  the  l)uiUlini;-  of  sea-going-  vessels  and  steamboats  at  a  later 
date. 

Bnt  while  the  i)e(»i)le  of  the  little  settlement  were  fashioning 
scythes  for  the  farmers  and  axes  for  the  woodmen,  and  were 
industriously  buying-  and  selling,  savage  scenes  were  being 
enacted  not  far  off.  The  Indians,  driven  from  the  hunting 
grounds  which  they  and  their  fathers  before  them  had  possessed, 
beholding  with  every  day  the  nearer  and  nearer  approach  of  the 
stream  of  white  immigration,  endeavored  to  stay  it  after  their 
barbarous  fashion.  It  was  the  old  way  of  the  tomahawk.  The 
life  of  no  white  man  was  safe  on  the  frontier.  At  last  Congress 
determined  to  put  an  end,  if  possible,  to  the  troubles  of  the  settlers, 
and  General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  who  was  the  governor  of  the  North- 
west Territory,  was  placed,  in  1791,  at  the  head  of  an  army  of 
between  two  and  three  thousand  men,  many  of  w^hom  had  been 
recruited  in  western  Pennsylvania.  The  second  in  command  was 
the  most  distinguished  citizen  of  Pittsburgh  at  that  time.  General 
Richard  Butler.  But  the  fate  of  war  was  against  the  expedition, 
as  it  had  been  against  the  earlier  expedition  led  by  Crawford. 
The  army  of  St.  Clair  was  surprised,  half  its  number  killed  in 
battle,  among  the  number  General  Butler,  and  the  old  story  of 
Indian  atrocities  had  many  a  chapter  added  to  it  in  consequence. 
The  defeat  of  St.  Clair,  which  was  due  to  no  lack  of  gallantry  on 
his  part,  brought  sorrow  to  hundreds  of  the  homes  of  western 
Pennsylvania.  It  led  to  the  erection  of  Fort  Lafayette,  or  Fort 
Fayette,  as  it  was  popularly  called,  on  the  banks  of  the  Allegheny, 
near  Ninth  street.  This  was  a  formidable  work  which  took  the 
place  of  Fort  Pitt,  which  had  been  sold  and  abandoned,  and  it 
became  for  a  number  of  years  the  base  of  the  military  movements 
v.^hich  w^ere  carried  on  by  the  government  against  the  Indians. 
"Garrison  alley"  survives  in  the  nomenclature  of  city  streets  and 
lanes  as  a  silent  monitor  of  the  location  of  this  old-time  fortifica- 
tion and  government  depot,  which  was  in  use  until  18 14.  when  it 
was  abandoned  for  the  better  quarters  of  the  Allegheny  Arsenal. 

431 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

St.  Clair's  defeat  led  to  the  famous  expedition  of  General 
Anthony  Wayne.  He  arrived  in  Pittsburgh  in  June,  1792,  and 
spent  the  time  until  the  spring  of  the  following  year  in  gathering 
a  force  and  drilling  his  men.  In  the  fall  of  1793  he  went  into 
winter  quarters  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Greenville, 
Ohio.  Not  until  late  in  August,  1794,  did  he  deliver  the  fatal 
blow  on  the  banks  of  the  Maumee  which  broke  forever  the  power 
of  the  Indian  tribes  in  the  vast  region  lying  east  of  the  Mississippi 
and  north  of  the  Ohio.  "Mad  Anthony"  he  was  called,  but  there 
was  a  splendid  method  in  his  madness,  and,  when  he  marched  his 
men  back  to  their  homes  in  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  Kentucky 
the  way  was  clear  for  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Mich- 
igan, and  Wisconsin  to  rise  into  the  great  family  of  American 
Commonwealths. 

But  while  Anthony  Wayne  was  leading  his  troops  against 
the  Indians  on  the  Maumee  the  people  who  had  stayed  at  home 
and  those  of  Pittsburgh  and  its  immediate  vicinity  did  not  lack 
their  peculiar  excitements.  A  miniature  rebellion  against  the 
general  govermnent,  which  threatened  at  one  time  to  lead  to  very 
serious  consequences,  and  was  not  unattended  by  acts  of  violence, 
was  hatched  in  the  neighborhood.  The  farmers  of  the  Monon- 
gahela  Valley  grew  then,  as  they  still  continue  to  do,  a  great  deal 
of  rye.  But  to  get  this  rye  to  profitable  markets  was  impossible. 
They  found,  however,  that  by  turning  rye  into  whiskey  they  could 
get  their  crop  into  market  quite  readily  and  make  a  small  profit. 
So  they  began  everywhere  to  distil  the  grain.  In  1791  the  general 
government  laid  a  tax  upon  whisky  and  set  about  collecting  it. 
This  bore  heavily  upon  the  farmers  of  the  region.  At  first  they 
remonstrated,  and  were  encouraged  in  so  doing  by  some  of  the 
best  and  most  influential  men  of  the  neighborhood — Albert 
Gallatin,  Hugh  Henry  Brackenridge,  General  Gibson,  and  others. 
But  when  remonstrances  failed,  the  people,  inflamed  by  a  sense  of 
wrong  and  incendiary  addresses,  resolved  upon  a  sturdier  resist- 
ance.   There  were  great  gatherings  of  men  carrying  arms.    Gen- 

432 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

eral  Neville's  barn  and  house  near  the  present  town  of  Bridgeville, 
south  of  Pittsburgh,  were  burned,  because  he  was  the  chief  excise 
officer  of  the  county.  Several  lives  were  lost  in  riotous  gather- 
ings, the  mails  were  stopped  and  rifled,  and  good  men  were  perse- 


Henry  Baldwin 

Member  of  Congress,  18 17-1822;  appointed  asso- 
ciate justice  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
1830.  Photographed  especially  for  this  work 
from  the  original  in  possession  of  the  Western 
University  of  Pennsylvania 

cuted  and  intimidated.  Things  finally  came  to  such  a  pass  that 
President  Washington  felt  himself  constrained  to  march  an  army 
under  General  Lee  over  the  mountains  into  the  Monongahela 
Valley  and  to  Pittsburgh.  There  were  fifteen  thousand  men  in 
the  force  which  was  called  out.     The  coming  of  the  army  set  the 


3-28 


433 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

malcontents  to  thinking,  and  the  result  was  a  scattering  to  their 
homes  of  those,  who  had  but  shortly  before  been  most  violent  in 
their  threats  against  the  government.  It  all  looks  now,  at  a  dis- 
tance, like  a  very  insignificant  affair,  but  it  was  the  first  occasion 
upon  which  the  government  of  the  United  States  had  been  called 
upon  to  assert  its  sovereignty  over  the  people  of  any  section  of  the 
country,  and  the  bold  and  determined  stand  taken  by  President 
Washington  had  a  most  salutary  effect,  not  only  in  western  Penn- 
sylvania, but  wherever  the  stars  and  stripes  at  that  time  waved 
upon  the  continent.  The  affair  cost  the  nation  about  a  million  of 
dollars,  which  was  at  that  time  a  heavy  sum  to  draw  from  the 
national  treasury. 

Pittsburgh  continued  to  grow.  On  April  22,  1794,  it  was 
incorporated  as  a  borough,  and  in  May  following  George  Rob- 
inson was  chosen  as  chief  burgess  and  Josiah  Tannehill  as  bur- 
gess. The  government  was  not  unlike  that  of  a  New  England 
town,  and  in  legislating  at  this  period  the  citizens  met  with  the 
burgesses  in  council  and  enacted  their  ordinances  and  selected  the 
minor  officers.  The  charter  of  1794  remained  in  force  until  1804, 
when  it  was  repealed  and  a  new  charter  was  granted,  which,  in 
turn,  remained  in  force  until  the  incorporation  of  Pittsburgh  as  a 
city  in  1816. 

The  beginning  of  the  manufacture  of  glass  at  Pittsburgh  took 
place  in  1797,  when  General  James  O'Hara  and  Major  Isaac  Craig 
established  a  factory  for  making  window  glass.  The  necessity  for 
protecting  the  banks  of  the  rivers  against  floods  led  to  the  com- 
mencement, in  1798,  of  the  building  of  the  levees  along  the 
Allegheny  and  the  Monongahela.  The  first  money  secured  for 
this  purpose  was  raised  by  a  lottery.  It  was  the  custom  of  the 
time  to  resort  to  lotteries  for  the  promotion  of  almost  all  kinds  of 
public  enterprises.  The  first  church  edifices  in  the  place  were,  in 
fact,  erected  in  part  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  lottery  tickets. 
At  this  time  the  streets  were  not  paved,  and  board  walks  were 
almost  unknown.     Mud  was  everywhere.     Log  houses  were  still 

434 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

in  the  majority,  though  about  fifty  houses  of  brick  had  been  built 
and  two  brick  kihis  were  in  constant  operation.  The  town 
was  confined  to  the  triangular  territory  lying  between  the  two 
rivers  and  Smithfield  street,  which  lay  at  the  foot  of  Grant's 
Hill,  which  was  much  higher  than  it  is  to-day,  successive  gradings 
having  lowered  it  in  places  over  forty  feet.  Between  Smithfield 
street  and  the  hill  lying  at  its  foot  was  Hogg's  Pond,  on  which  in 
the  winter  the  youths  of  the  village  skated.  The  pond  covered  an 
elongated  oval  area  extending  from  near  the  intersection  of 
Fourth  avenue  and  Smithfield  street  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Cherry  alley  and  Seventh  avenue. 

The  population  of  the  place  in  1800  was  one  thousand  five 
hundred  and  sixty-five  souls.  There  were  four  churches,  the 
First  Presbyterian  on  Wood  street,  without  a  pastor,  the  German 
Church  on  Smithfield  street,  the  Episcopal  Church,  at  the  inter- 
section of  Wood  and  Liberty  streets,  which  was  struggling  hard 
amidst  difficulties,  and  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  just 
organized,  and  of  which  the  Rev.  John  Black  was  the  pastor.  The 
Methodist  Church  was  represented  by  an  organization  which  at 
the  time  was  worshipping  in  the  disused  barracks  of  old  Fort  Pitt. 
The  only  school  of  importance  in  the  place  was  the  Pittsburgh 
Academy,  the  building  of  which  stood  on  the  corner  of  Cherry 
alley  and  Fourth  street,  upon  ground  donated  for  its  use  by  the 
Penns.  Neither  learning  nor  piety  appears  at  this  date  to  have 
been  in  a  singularly  flourishing  condition  in  the  town.  The  aris- 
tocracy of  the  village  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  com- 
prised a  score  or  more  of  families  representing  the  original  mili- 
tary settlement  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  Nobody 
was  wealthy  in  anything  but  hope  and  land  w^arrants.  The  whole 
of  the  territory  now  comprised  within  the  cities  of  Pittsburgh 
and  Alleghen}^  might  have  been  bought  at  that  time  for  a  sum  far 
less  than  is  annually  expended  in  maintaining  his  household  by 
many  a  Pittsburgh  millionaire  of  the  present  generation.  The 
entire  borough  tax  levied  in  the  year  1800  was  $604.88,  of  which 

435 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

$512  were  collected  by  the  end  of  the  year.  For  the  year  1802  a 
borough  tax  of  $497.96  was  levied,  of  which  in  December  of  that 
year  only  $170  had  been  collected.  The  tax  levy  of  Allegheny 
county,  which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  covered  at  that  time  a 
vastly  larger  area  than  to-day,  appears  in  comparison  with  the 
levies  of  the  present  time  almost  ridiculous.  The  revenues  were 
largely  drawn  upon  to  pay  the  bounty  for  wolves'  scalps.  In  the 
year  1799  it  is  recorded  that  $640.30  were  expended  on  this 
account.  In  1800  the  county  treasurer  was  robbed  of  all  the  cash 
in  his  possession,  amounting  to  the  sum  of  thirteen  hundred  dol- 
lars. The  money  was  fortunately  recovered.  Such  was  Pitts- 
burgh one  hundred  years  ago. 

The  dawn  of  the  nineteenth  century  found  the  movement  of 
western  migration  well  under  way.  The  invasion  of  the 
hordes  of  the  north,  who  descended  upon  the  Roman  Empire, 
sinks  into  insig'uificance  as  a  great  movement  of  human  popula- 
tion, when  compared  with  the  migration  into  the  New  World, 
which  characterized  the  century,  which  has  just  ended.  Nothing 
like  it  has  ever  before  occurred  in  the  annals  of  the  human  race. 
The  advance  of  the  Caucasian  flood  had  passed  the  crests  of  the 
Alleghanies  and  Pittsburgh  became  the  center  from  which  the 
westward  pilgrimages  poured.  The  mountains  to  the  east,  once 
crossed,  proved  a  formidable  barrier  over  which  to  return  by  those 
who  were  bent  on  errands  of  commerce.  N(  t  so  the  water  ways 
smoothlv  flowing  to  the  southwest  and  joining  the  mighty  flood 
of  the  Mississippi.  Trade  naturallv  took  the  easier  course,  and 
Pittsburgh  felt  that  nothing  should  be  allowed  to  interfere  with 
her  trade  with  the  southwest.  Her  traffic  with  New  Orleans, 
even  at  this  early  day,  was  considerable.  WHien,  in  1803,  the  Span- 
ish Intendant  at  New  Orleans  closed  the  port  against  the  traders 
of  the  upper  countrv  an  intense  excitement  was  engendered. 
Meetings  were  held,  the  President  and  Congress  were  memorial- 
ized, and  it  was  even  intimated,  that,  unless  the  general  government 
took  prompt  steps  to  avert  impending  ruin,  the  people  of  the  west 

436 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  EN FI RONS 

might  take  steps  which  would  impair  the  harmony  of  the  Union. 
Whether  these  veiled  threats  had  weight  or  not,  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana  was  very  shortly  thereafter  consummated,  and  the  way 
was  at  once  clear  for  the  trade  of  Pittsburgh  with  the  southwest 
to  be  resumed  and  increased.     It  began  to  grow  by  leaps  and 


James  O'Hara 

Incorporator  Pittsburgh  Academy.  Photo- 
graphed especially  for  this  work  from  a  draw- 
ing in  possession  of  Miss  Matilda  Denny 

bounds.  Flour,  lumber,  wdiisky,  pork,  iron-ware  made  from  iron 
produced  in  the  valley  of  the  Juniata  and  later  in  the  charcoal  fur- 
naces of  western  Pennsylvania,  and  large  quantities  of  salt 
shipped  from  the  upper  Allegheny  were  dispatched  to  low^er  river 
ports  during  the  first  decade  of  the  century.  From  the  South 
came  sugar,  hemp,  and  cotton.  In  1803  the  famous  expedition  of 
Lewis  &  Clarke  to  the  Pacific  was  organized  and  took  its  depart- 
ure from  Pittsburgh.    The  traffic  of  the  place  was  increased  rather 


437 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

than  diminished  by  the  war  of  1812.  From  Pittsburgh  came 
much  of  the  material  which  entered  into  the  construction  of  the 
fleet  on  Lake  Erie,  and  from  a  Pittsburgh  foundry  came  the  can- 
non balls  which  were  used  by  Perry  in  his  memorable  battle,  and 
those  which  were  fired  by  Jackson  at  New  Orleans.  The  building 
of  lx)ats  and  even  of  ocean-going  craft  had  by  this  time  risen  to 
considerable  proportions  in  the  town.  At  Elizabeth  the  Monon- 
gahela  Company,  in  March,  1801,  launched  a  brigantine  which 
was  loaded  with  flour  and  taken  to  New  Orleans.  It  was  followed 
in  May  by  the  schooner  "Monongahela  Farmer,"  which  took  a 
cargo  of  750  barrels  of  flour  to  the  same  place.  The  pioneers  in 
ship-building  in  Pittsburgh  were  the  Messrs.  Tarascon  Brothers, 
and  James  Berthoud  &  Co.  Their  first  venture  was  the  launch,  in 
December,  1802,  of  the  schooner  Amity,  of  100  tons,  quickly  fol- 
lowed by  the  ship  Pittsburgh,  of  270  tons,  and  the  ship  Louisiana, 
of  300  tons  burthen.  The  Pittsburgh  cleared  from  Pittsburgh  for 
Lisbon,  and  the  Louisiana  took  a  cargo  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Cumberland  river  to  Liverpool.  The  Amity  took  a  cargo  of  flour 
from  Pittsburgh  to  St.  Thomas,  in  the  West  Lidies.  The  business 
of  building  ocean-going  craft  of  a  size  regarded  as  considerable 
at  that  day  continued  to  flourish.  The  brig  "Ann  Jane,"  launched 
at  Pittsburgh,  was  long  run  between  New  Orleans  and  New  York, 
and  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  fastest  vessels  at  that  time  on  the 
seas.  In  181 1  the  business  of  ship-building  was  augmented  by 
the  opening  of  a  yard  for  the  erection  of  steamboats.  The  firm 
was  that  of  Fulton,  Livingston,  &  Roosevelt.  Their  first  boat,  the 
"New  Orleans,"  which  was  also  the  first  steamboat  built  upon  the 
western  rivers,  was  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  feet  on  the  keel, 
with  twenty  feet  beam.  She  cost  $38,000.  Launched  in  March, 
she  was  later  taken  down  the  Ohio  and  put  into  commission  be- 
tween New  Orleans  and  Natchez,  where  she  rapidly  made  money 
for  her  owners,  until,  in  1814,  she  was  unfortunately  lost  on  a 
snag  near  Baton  Rouge.  The  New  Orleans  was  quickly  followed 
by  other  boats,  and  a  number  of  firms  embarked  in  the  enterprise 

438 


X 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

of  steamboat  building.  The  establishment  of  this  industry  did 
not  a  little  to  Iniild  up  the  commerce  of  the  place,  and  it  has  con- 
tinued to  flourish  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  even  to  the  present 
day.  The  year  1857  marked  the  highest  point  in  the  construction 
of  large  boats.  In  that  year  one  hundred  and  forty-one  steam- 
boats were  launched  in  Pittsburgh  and  its  immediate  vicinity.  The 
records  show  that  nearly  four  thousand  ocean-going  vessels  and 
river  steamboats  have  been  built  in  Pittsburgh  since  the  Messrs. 
Tarascon  made  their  first  venture,  and  Pittsburgh  boats  to-day  ply 
on  the  waters  of  the  Volga  and  the  Don,  the  Amazon,  the  Orinoco, 
and  the  Rio  Magdalena. 

While  the  people  of  Pittsburgh  were  with  great  spirit  endeav- 
oring to  build  up  their  trade  with  the  West  and  the  Southwest, 
they  were  much  harassed  by  the  difficulties  which  attended  the 
development  of  their  communication  with  the  East.  When  Brad- 
dock  and  Forbes  cut  their  way  across  the  mountains,  the  one  from 
Cumberland,  Maryland,  the  other  from  Bedford,  Pennsylvania, 
they  opened  paths  which  served  the  packmen  for  the  transport- 
ation of  goods.  The  first  wagon  from  the  East  was  driven  into 
Pittsburgh  by  Conrad  Hawk,  a  teamster  with  the  army  of  General 
Forbes.  But  for  many  years  after  that  trains  of  pack-horses  were 
more  frequently  used  for  conveyance  than  wheeled  vehicles.  The 
most  important  economic  subject  which  engaged  the  attention  of 
the  people  of  western  Pennsylvania  from  1800  to  1820  was  the 
betterment  of  the  roads  leading  to  the  older  and  more  thickly  set- 
tled country.  Postal  service  from  Philadelphia  and  from  Virginia 
to  Pittsburgh  by  way  of  Bedford  had  been  established  in  1786. 
The  mail  continued  from  that  date  to  1789  to  be  carried  on  horse- 
back. In  the  years  following  various  schemes  for  improving 
internal  communication  were  broached.  The  result  was.  so  far  as 
Pittsbvu'gh  was  concerned,  the  construction  of  a  turnpike  road 
from  Harrisburg  to  Pittsburgh  by  way  of  Chambersburg,  Bed- 
ford, Somerset  and  Greensburg,  which  was  completed  in  1820, 
though  the  mail  had  been  carried  by  coach  over  the  line  since  1805. 

441 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

The  old  "Bedford  pike,"  as  it  was  called,  became  the  main  artery 
of  travel  between  the  East  and  the  West.  The  Conestoga  wagon 
and  the  mail  coach  thereafter  for  thirty  years  continued  to  play  a 
prominent  part  as  means  of  transportation.  A  reasonably  good 
road  capable  of  being  used  for  the  conveyance  of  passengers  and 
goods  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh  having  been  provided, 
there  immediately  arose  a  great  demand  for  the  construction  of 
roads  south,  west,  and  north  from  the  city,  for  in  1816  Pittsburgh, 
having  outgrown  its  boroughhood,  was  incorporated  as  a  city. 
The  development  of  towns  and  villages  throughout  western  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  the  rapid  settlement  of  a  large 
agricultural  population  in  the  territory,  made  it  necessary  to  pro- 
vide means  of  communication  with  the  metropolis  of  the  region. 
The  farmer  and  the  merchant  demanded  access  to  the  market  at 
the  head  of  river  navigation,  and  the  tide  of  westward  travel  con- 
tinued to  increase  in  volume  with  each  succeeding  year.  The  con- 
struction under  the  authority  of  the  general  government  of  the 
great  national  turnpike  along  a  route  lying  south  of  Pittsburgh 
was  viewed  with  scarcely  approbatory  feeling  by  the  merchants  of 
Pittsburgh.  It  tended  to  divert  travel  to  other  points.  In  order 
to  connect  with  this  important  highway  a  turnpike  from  Pitts- 
burgh to  the  village  of  Washington,  Pa.,  was  undertaken.  A  road 
to  Steubenville  was  built.  The  Pittsburgh  and  Butler  turnpike 
was  projected  in  1819.  The  legislature  was  flooded  with  bills 
calling  for  the  construction  of  roads  in  every  direction.  Mean- 
while the  fact  that  the  national  turnpike,  built  at  government  ex- 
pense at  a  cost  of  nearly  two  millions  of  dollars,  was  being  oper- 
ated free  from  tolls,  and  the  further  fact  that  the  State  of  New 
York,  under  the  wise  leadership  of  De  Witt  Clinton,  had  under- 
taken the  construction  of  a  system  of  waterways  to  connect  the 
Hudson  with  the  Great  Lakes  began  to  fill  the  people  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania  with  alarm.  They  saw,  that,  unless  something 
were  quickly  done,  their  growing  trade  with  the  western  country 
would  be  diverted  from  them,  and  that  New  York  and  Baltimore 

442 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

would  presently  monopolize  the  business,  which  had  been  built  up 
by  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh.  The  agitation  which  arose  at 
this  time  led  finally  to  the  construction  and  completion  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Canal.  If  the  people  of  Pittsburgh  could  have  had 
their  way  the  canal  would  have  been  built  and  finished  ten  years 
before  it  was.    The  student  who  has  taken  the  trouble  to  read  the 


First  Pittsburgh  Academy 

On  the  left,  with  the  Principal's  house  adjacent ; 
the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania  on  the 
right.  1831.     By  courtesy  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Holland 

newspapers  published  at  that  time  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with 
the  great  fear,  which  had  taken  possession  of  the  people,  that,  un- 
less better  transportation  between  the  Ohio  Valley  and  the  Dela- 
ware were  quickly  provided,  the  trade  of  the  city  would  be  ruined. 
While  the  momentous  question  of  means  of  communication 
with  the  East  was  consuming  much  of  the  thought  of  the  people 
of  w^estern  Pennsylvania,  the  student  does  not  fail  to  discover  that 
a  great  change  had  taken  place  in  other  respects.  When  we  look 
at  the  city  of  Pittsburgh,  as  it  appears  in  the  light  of  contemporary 


443 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

narrative  at  the  time  of  which  we  speak,  we  find,  that,  instead  of 
being  the  center  of  a  more  or  less  restless  population  full  of  lawless 
impulses,  as  was  the  village,  which  had  originally  sprung  up  about 
Fort  Pitt,  it  had  become  a  community  permeated  by  the  spirit  of 
order  and  filled  with  deep  religious  convictions.  The  character 
of  the  population,  in  which  Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish  blood  predom- 
inated, may  account  in  part  for  this  fact,  for  the  Scotchman  since 
the  days  of  John  Knox  has  found  his  highest  interest  in  matters 
of  religion.  But  a  more  potent  influence  than  the  mere  relis^ious 
predisposition  of  the  people  is  to  be  found  in  the  labors  of  the 
clergymen  of  the  region  and  the  succession  of  great  spiritual 
awakenings,  which,  beginning  under  the  preaching  of  John 
McMillan,  James  Powers,  Thaddeus  Dodd,  and  Joseph  Smith  in 
1787,  and  renewed  in  the  years  from  1799  to  1802,  culminated  in 
a  movement  spreading  to  the  Carolinas  in  the  south  and  to  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee  in  the  West.  This  "great  awakening"  left 
an  indelible  impression  upon  the  whole  western  country,  and  while 
Pittsburgh  w-as  not  immediately  the  scene  of  any  of  the  remark- 
able occurrences,  the  story  of  which  has  come  down  to  our  day,  it 
necessarily  felt  in  the  life  of  its  people  the  influence  of  the  great  re- 
vival of  interest  in  religious  things,  which  had  taken  place  through- 
out the  country  of  which  it  was  the  commercial  and  industrial  cen- 
ter. In  the  spring  of  1802  the  general  assembly  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  created  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  which  convened 
in  Pittsburgh  on  September  29th  of  that  year,  the  first  of  the  long 
series  of  ecclesiastical  gatherings  which  have  been  held  on  the  spot. 
It  met  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  which  had  been  erected  of 
"squared  timber"  in  1786,  and  was  the  only  church  edifice  in  Pitts- 
burgh at  the  time.  This  structure  was  followed  by  a  brick  church, 
completed  in  1805,  largely  through  the  efiforts  of  John  Wilkins. 
The  advent  of  Francis  Herron,  wdio  became  the  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  year  181 1,  was  not  the  least  important 
fact  in  shaping  the  character  of  the  growing  community.  He  set 
tlie  impress  of  his  noble,  manly  character  upon  the  lives  of  many, 

444 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENFIRONS 

and  it  is  no  surprise  to  learn,  that,  as  the  result  of  the  untiring  and 
splendid  labors  performed  by  him  and  his  worthy  associates  in  the 
Christian  ministry  of  many  denominations  in  later  years,  the  place 
which  Arthur  Lee  characterized  as  utterly  godless,  came  in  the 
year  1840,  to  be  known  as  "the  city  of  churches,"  a  title  later 
transferred  to  Baltimore,  and,  during  the  civil  war,  given  to 
Brooklyn.  It  was  just  as  Pittsburgh  became  a  city  that  the  full 
power  of  the  magnetic  and  splendid  character  of  Dr.  Herron 
began  to  make  itself  most  deeply  felt.  Closely  associated  with 
him  in  his  labors  on  behalf  of  religion,  morrdity,  and  true  learning 
was  Elisha  P.  Swift,  for  many  years  the  pastor  of  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Pittsburgh,  and  then  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Allegheny. 

Contemporary  with  the  awakening  of  the  religious  life  of  the 
community  was  the  awakening  of  interest  in  education.  The  men 
who  had  gathered  the  frontier  farmers  of  western  Pennsylvania 
about  them  in  the  camp-meetings  of  the  wilderness  and  had  organ- 
ized them  into  churches  realized  the  necessity  for  establishing 
schools.  John  McMillan  and  his  associates  were  graduates  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey  at  Princeton.  They  were  men  of  learning 
as  well  as  of  piety  and  indomitable  courage.  Through  their  labors 
were  founded  Jeffereson  College  at  Canonsburg,  in  1802,  and 
Washington  College  at  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  in  1806.  The 
growth  of  Pittsburgh  suggested  to  the  intelligent  leaders  of  the 
community  that  the  time  had  come  when  the  Academy,  which  was 
flourishing  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Stockton,  the  author 
of  'Th  Western  Calculator"  and  "The  Western  Spelling  Book," 
should  be  transformed  into  an  institution  of  higher  learning.  Steps 
were  accordingly  taken  which  resulted  in  the  reincorporation  of 
the  institution  in  February,  1819,  as  the  Western  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  The  first  board  of  trustees  was  composed  of  men 
most  of  whom  bore  a  distinguished  part  in  public  life.  James 
Allison,  whose  name  appears  first  upon  the  list,  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  Beaver  County  Bar  and  twice  elected  a  member 


445 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

of  congress.  Judge  Henry  Baldwin  was  one  of  the  most  noted 
jurists  of  western  Pennsylvania  and  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  Abner  Barker  was  a  leading  mer- 
chant. John  Darragh  was  a  prominent  laywer.  Major  Ebenezer 
Denny  had  taken  part  in  the  expeditions  of  Harmar  and  St.  Clair, 
had  rendered  service  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  in  18 16  had  been 
elected  the  first  mayor  of  Pittsburgh.  Hon.  Walter  Forward  was 
twice  a  member  of  congress,  became  first  controller  of  the  treasury 
under  Harrison,  secretary  of  the  treasury  under  Tyler,  and  min- 
ister of  the  United  States  to  Denmark  under  Taylor.  The  Rev. 
Francis  Herron  was  a  leader  in  every  good  work.  Peter  Mowry 
was  a  physician  and  public-spirited  citizen.  Samuel  Roberts  was 
an  ornament  to  the  bench  of  the  county,  having,  in  1803,  suc- 
ceeded Judge  Addison,  the  first  law  judge  commissioned  in  the 
county.  William  Robinson,  Jr.,  was  one  of  the  leading  citizens 
and  one  of  the  largest  landholders  in  the  region.  His  home  was 
in  Allegheny.  John  Scull  was  the  founder  of  the  "Pittsburgh 
Gazette."  John  M.  Snowden  had  established  the  "Farmer's  Reg- 
ister" in  Greensburg  in  1798,  removed  to  Pittsburgh  in  181 1, 
where  he  published  the  "Commonwealth"  and  later  the  "Mer- 
cury," and  was  subsequently  at  various  times  the  mayor  of  the  city. 
William  Wilkins  in  the  following  year  was  made  a  judge  of  the 
Fifth  district,  subsequently  became  judge  of  the  District  Court  of 
theUnited  States,  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in 
1 83 1,  was  made  minister  to  Russia  in  1834,  and  was  secretary  of 
war  under  President  Tyler  from  1844  to  1845.  George  Evans, 
John  Gilmore,  Robert  Moore,  John  McPherrin,  Morgan  Neville, 
John  Poe,  Jr.,  J.  Postlethwaite,  John  Reed,  Dr.  George  Stevenson 
and  John  Young  were  all  men  of  eminent  ability  and  high  social 
position  in  the  western  half  of  the  Commonwealth.  But  pre-emi- 
nent in  this  body  of  able  men  were  Rev.  Dr.  John  Black,  the  pastor 
of  the  First  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Robert 
Bruce,  the  pastor  of  the  First  Associate  Presbyterian  Church,  now 
known  as  the  First  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Pittsburgh. 

446 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

Both  were  graduates  of  the  University  of  Glasgow,  and  both 
became  meml)ers  of  the  faculty,  Dr.  Bruce  holding  the  position  of 
principal  of  the  university  from  1822  to  1835.  Associated  with 
these  two  eminent  men  in  the  first  faculty  was  the  Rev.  C.  B. 
Maguire,  who  succeeded  the  Rev.  F.  X.  O'Brien,  the  first  Roman 
Catholic  priest  permanently  located  in  the  city.   "Priest  Maguire," 


Robert  Bruce 

Eminent  clergyman  and  educator:  first  princi- 
pal of  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
1822-1834.  Photographed  especially  for  this 
work  from  portrait  by  Lambdin  in  possession  ol 
Western  University  of  Pennsylvania 

as  he  was  known,  was  the  founder  of  the  church  now  known  as 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  a  man  of  great  learning  and  ready  wit.  Dr. 
Swift,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missions  and  of 
the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  both 
of  which  great  organizations  had  their  inception  in  Pittsburgh, 
was  also  a  member  of  the  faculty,  as  was  the  Rev.  Joseph 
McElroy,  who,  afterwards  removing  to  New  York  City,  was  for 
well  nigh  half  a  century  the  pastor  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterian 


447 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

Church  in  the  metropoHs.  The  Western  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania passed  through  many  and  great  vicissitudes,  but  still  exists 
to-day  a  monument  to  the  prescience  of  its  founders,  if  not  of  the 
liberality  of  the  community  in  which  it  has  for  so  many  years  been 
accomplishing  most  important  and  useful  labors. 

The  growth  of  the  place  in  population  from  the  beginning  of 
the  century  to  the  close  of  its  second  decade  was  relatively  rapid. 
The  census  of  1800  showed  a  total  population  of  1,565,  the  census 
of  1820  showed  a  population  of  7,248.  But  while,  relatively, 
these  years  mark  the  greatest  percentage  of  increase  for  a  given 
period,  they  are  not  to  be  compared  with  later  years  toward  the 
close  of  the  century,  when  in  a  single  twelvemonth  Pittsburgh 
has  gained  twice  as  many  inhabitants  as  she  gained  during  the 
first  two  decades  of  her  existence.  Measured  with  the  stature  of 
the  present  day,  the  Pittsburgh  of  1820  was  merely  a  village,  but 
a  village  of  enterprising,  intelligent,  public-spirited  men,  who  were 
determined  to  malce  the  most  of  their  opportunities,  and  whose 
wisdom  and  foresight  paved  the  way  for  the  greater  achievements 
which  were  destined  to  follow. 

There  were  in  Pittsburgh  ten  church  organizations  in  1820. 
Of  these  the  Baptist  Church  was  as  yet  without  a  church  edifice. 
On  the  roll  of  the  membership  of  this  infant  Baptist  Church  was 
the  name  of  Sidney  Rigdon,  a  native  of  Allegheny  county.  Being 
a  printer,  a  little  later,  while  employed  in  the  printing  office  of  the 
Rev.  Robert  Patterson,  he  obtained  access  to  the  manuscript  of  a 
novel  by  the  Rev.  Solomon  Spaulding,  entitled,  "The  Manuscript 
Found,"  upon  which  he  and  Joseph  Smith  subsequently  based  the 
composition  known  as  the  "Book  of  Mormon."  He  had  come 
under  the  influence  of  the  celebrated  Alexander  Campbell,  whose 
teachings  he  first  followed,  but  against  whom  he  came  later  to 
cherish  resentment,  and,  upon  sundering  his  relations  with  Camp- 
bell, he  associated  himself  with  Smith  and  was  his  chief  tool  and 
coadjutor  in  the  Mormon  movement.  The  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  "Old  St.   Patrick's,"  was  located  near  the  site  of  the 

448 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

present  Union  Depot.  Steps  were  already  being  taken  to  rei)]ace 
it  by  St.  Paul's  Church,  at  the  corner  of  Grant  and  Fifth  streets. 
The  First  and  Second  Presbyterian  churches  had  houses  of  wor- 
ship on  sites  still  occupied  by  them.  The  Lutheran,  or  "German 
Church,"  as  it  was  called,  stood  at  the  corner  of  Smithfield  and 
Sixth  streets.  At  the  corner  of  Smithfield  and  Seventh  streets,. 
"Brimstone  Corner,"  was  the  Methodist  Church,  which  had 
taken  the  place  of  the  first  edifice,  which  had  stood  nearly  opposite 
the  present  site  of  the  Monongahela  House,  near  the  corner  of 
Smithfield  and  Water  streets.  The  Episcopalians  worshipped 
in  a  church  which  stood  upon  the  triangular  plot  of  ground  at 
the  intersection  of  Sixth  and  Wood  streets,  and  which,  being 
built  in  oval  form,  to  conform  to  the  shape  of  the  plot  of  ground 
upon  which  it  stood,  was  known  as  "The  Round  Church."  The 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  was  located  on  Oak  alley.  The 
First  Associate  Reformed  Church  was  located  on  Seventh  street, 
near  Smithfield,  and  the  Second  Associate  Reformed  Church  was 
situated  on  Sixth  street. 

Three  newspapers  were  published  in  the  place :  The  "Gazette," 
semi-weekly,  published  by  Eichbaum  &' Johnston,  and  edited  by 
Morgan  Neville;  the  "Statesman,"  edited  by  Ephraim  Pentland; 
and  the  "Mercury."  edited  and  published  by  John  M.  Snowden. 

The  Monongahela  Bridge  and  the  St.  Clair  Street  Bridge 
over  the  Allegheny,  both  wooden  structures,  had  been  completed 
two  years  before  this  date.  The  Allegheny  Court  House  was  an 
unpretentious  structure  located  on  the  site  of  "Old  City  Hall," 
in  the  Diamond  Market  Square.  There  were  four  banks  in  the 
place :  The  Bank  of  Pittsburgh,  originally  the  "Pittsburgh  Man- 
ufacturing Company,"  of  which  Alexander  Johnston,  the  grand- 
father of  President  A.  J.  Cassatt  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad, 
was  the  cashier ;  the  Pittsburgh  Branch  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
vStates,  the  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank,  which  was  in  process 
of  liquidation  partly  because  of  a  robbery,  and  the  City  Bank  of 
Pittsburgh,  of  which  the  Rev.  Robert  Patterson  was  the  presi- 

3-29  449 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

dent,  and  which  had  but  a  brief  existence.  All  of  these  institu- 
tions carried  on  business  at  the  time  in  buildings,  which  had  been 
originally  private  residences. 

"The  times  were  hard."  The  financial  distress  which  pre- 
vailed from  1819  to  1 82 1  over  the  whole  country  had  told  heavily 
upon  Pittsburgh.  Manufacturing  was  almost  wholly  suspended 
as  the  result  of  numerous  failures.  McClurg's  foundry,  which 
was  the  first  iron  foundry  established  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 
and  which  stood  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Smithfield  streets,  on 
the  site  of  the  present  Park  building,  was  one  of  the  few  establish- 
ments concerned  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  which  were  in  suc- 
cessful operation. 

The  beginning  of  the  third  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century 
found  the  infant  city  of  Pittsburgh  in  the  grasp  of  the  financial 
difficulties  which  made  the  period  memorable  throughout  the 
United  States.  The  times  were  such  as  to  "try  the  souls  of  men." 
But  the  financial  depression  did  not  last  long.  A  better  day  pres- 
ently dawned.  Commerce  and  trade  revived  in  the  year  1825, 
and  from  that  period  forward,  in  spite  of  temporary  reverses  in 
1830  and  the  disastrous  panic  of  1837,  the  growth  of  Pittsburgh 
as  a  commercial  and  manufacturing  center  was  continuous. 

The  problem  of  increased  facilities  for  transportation  was  met 
by  the  construction  of  the  Pennsylvania  Canal,  the  first  boat  upon 
the  western  section  of  which,  extending  from  Pittsburgh  to  Blairs- 
ville,  arrived  laden  with  merchandise,  which  had  been  hauled 
over  the  mountains,  on  October  31st,  1829.  The  canal  followed 
the  right  bank  of  the  Allegheny  river  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Kiskiminetas  and  crossed  the  river  from  the  right  to  the  left  bank 
on  an  aqueduct.  The  receiving  basin  was  near  the  site  of  the  present 
Union  Depot.  The  tunnel  under  Grant's  Hill,  now  utilized  by  the 
southwestern  system  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railway  lines,  was  orig- 
inally built  to  allow  the  canal  boats  to  pass  under  the  hill,  and  at  its 
southern  end  they  were  lowered  by  a  system  of  locks  at  Suke's 
Run  into  the  Monongahela.     The  first  boat  to  cross  the  moun- 

450 


5  w  u. 
goo 

§   :2 

ij  C  u 


.a  o  w  S 

iJ        2  e 

6*3  E 

Ji  n  o 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

tains  with  unbroken  cargo  from  Philadelphia  reached  Pittsburgh 
on  March  24,  1834. 

The  successful  operation  of  the  Pennsylvania  Canal  led  pres- 
ently to  the  adoption  of  plans  for  the  extension  of  canals  into  the 
western  country  to  connect  Pittsburgh  with  the  lakes  and  the  in- 
terior of  Ohio.  Of  these  the  Pittsburgh  and  Beaver  Canal  was 
completed  in  1840.  Meanwhile  the  improvement  of  the  Monon- 
gahela  river  by  a  system  of  dams  and  locks  was  undertaken.  At 
Brownsville  the  national  turnpike  crossed  the  river.  By  making 
provision  to  enable  steamboats  to  reach  Brownsville  during  the 
greater  portion  of  the  year  it  was  felt  that  the  high  road  of  travel 
to  the  West,  maintained  by  the  government,  could  be  effectually 
tapped,  and  the  commerce  of  the  road  diverted  to  Pittsburgh. 
The  Monongahela  Navigation  Company  was  incorporated,  and 
under  the  able  management  of  James  K.  Moorhead,  Felix  R. 
Brunot,  William  Bakewell,  and  their  associates,  the  best  expec- 
tations of  the  promoters  of  the  enterprise  were  finally  realized. 
The  shipments  of  coal  to  the  lower  river  ports  presently  rose  to 
large  proportions,  and  a  handsome  revenue  from  this  source  alone 
was  ultimately  received.  Transportation  upon  the  Pennsylvania 
Canal  w^as  largely  in  the  hands  of  certain  forwarding  companies. 
Of  these  the  most  prominent  were  D.  Leech  &  Co.  of  the  Western 
Line,  H.  &  P.  Graff  of  the  Union  Line,  William  Bingham  of 
Bingham's  Line,  J.  C.  Reynolds  of  the  Dispatch  Line,  and 
McDowell  &  Co.  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  Line.  These 
concerns  became  the  schools  from  which  issued  a  generation  of 
young  men,  trained  to  practically  consider  questions  of  com- 
merce, who,  at  a  later  day  became  the  leaders  in  the  development 
of  the  great  railway  systems  and  the  industrial  and  manufactur- 
ing agencies  of  the  city,  which  was  now  rapidly  growing  up  at 
the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Ohio.  It  was  in  this  service  that 
such  men  as  Thomas  A.  Scott,  William  Thaw,  Henry  Lloyd, 
Benjamin  F.  Jones,  and  many  others,  whose  activities  have  helped 
to  develop  the  resources  of  the  Commonwealth,  were  trained. 

453 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

With  the  advent  of  the  newer  and  better  modes  of  communi- 
cation between  the  East  and  the  West,  travel  and  trade  received 
a  wonderful  impetus,  and  manufacturing-,  which  had  almost  come 
to  an  end  in  Pittsburgh  in  1819,  was  resumed.  The  needs  of  the 
growing  community  located  on  the  triangular  area  below  Grant's 
Hill,  between  the  two  rivers,  led  by  this  time  to  the  occupation 
of  the  level  territory  north  of  the  Allegheny  and  south  of  the 
Monongahela.  The  Reserve  Tract,  including  the  town  of  Alle- 
gheny, opposite  Pittsburgh,  had  been  laid  out  as  a  manor,  or 
reserve,  in  1788,  according  to  a  resolution  ordered  by  the  supreme 
executive  council  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania, 
adopted  September  11,  1787.  The  Reserve  Tract  contained  an 
area  of  three  thousand  acres,  divided  into  ten-acre  lots,  except  a 
tract  of  something  more  than  three  hundred  and  twelve  acres 
patented  to  James  O'Hara,  May  the  loth,  1789,  and  located  in 
the  Butchers'  Run  district.  The  plan  of  the  town  of  Allegheny, 
as  originally  laid  out,  contained  one  hundred  and  forty-four  lots, 
each  60  feet  by  240  feet,  in  blocks  of  240  feet  square.  Four  of 
these  blocks  in  the  center  of  the  town  were  reserved  for  public 
buildings.  The  whole  plan  was  surrounded  by  common  ground 
— a  strip  sixty  feet  wide  on  the  south,  and  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  wide  on  the  north  and  east,  and  fourteen  hun- 
dred feet  wide  on  the  west,  containing  an  area  of  one  hundred 
and  two  acres,  designed  as  a  common  pasturage  ground  for  the 
cattle  of  the  owners  of  the  in-lots.  These  tracts,  reserved  as  cow- 
pastures,  were  named  respectively,  the  East,  West,  North,  and 
South  Commons.  The  supreme  executive  council  of  Pennsyl- 
vania originally  designed  locating  the  seat  of  justice  for  Alle- 
gheny county  within  this  reserve  tract,  but  the  report  of  the  sur- 
veyor sent  to  look  into  the  matter,  and  the  strenuous  opposition 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Pittsburgh,  led  to  the  abandonment  of  this 
plan,  and  the  permanent  location  of  the  seat  of  justice  for  Alle- 
gheny county  on  the  Pittsburgh  side  of  the  river.  The  report  of 
the  surveyor  likened  the  Reserve  Tract  to  a  section  of  a  lunar 

454 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENFIRONS 

landscape,  composed  of  deep  pits  and  high  cHffs.  The  settlement 
of  the  tract  was  very  slow.  Communication,  originally  by  means 
of  a  ferry  from  Pittsburgh  to  the  north  side  of  the  river,  was 
made  easy  by  the  erection  of  the  first  bridge  at  the  north  end  of 
St.  Clair  street  in  1818.  From  this  time  forward  a  relatively 
rapid  increase  of  population  on  the  northern  side  of  the  river  took 
place. 

Among  the  more  prominent  families  who  settled  in  Allegheny 
at  an  early  date  were  the  Robinsons,  Irwins,  Riddles,  Ilannens, 
Cassatts,  Stocktons,  Andersons,  Stewarts,  Tasseys,  and  Camp- 
bells. 

The  town  w^as  formally  incorporated  on  the  14th  of  April, 
1828.  Subsequently,  on  the  14th  of  April,  1838,  the  boundaries 
fixed  by  the  first  act  were  changed  to  some  extent.  The  first  bur- 
gess was  John  Irwin,  who  served  from  1829  to  1834,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Hugh  Davis,  who  held  office  until  1838.  He  was, 
in  turn,  succeeded  by  John  Morrison,  wdio  held  the  office  from 
1839  to  1840,  when  the  borough  became  a  city.  To  the  west,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio  river,  in  1832,  was  laid  out  the  borough  of 
Manchester,  which  was  not,  however,  incorporated  as  a  borough 
until  November  2d,  1843.  Between  the  borough  of  Allegheny 
and  the  borough  of  Manchester  lay  something  like  one  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  land,  which,  in  1835,  were  purchased  by  Stephen 
Colwell  and  Charles  S.  Bradford  for  themselves  and  others,  and 
laid  out  in  lots.  The  name  of  Chatham  was  given  to  this  plan  of 
lots.  The  borough  of  Chatham  was,  however,  never  incorpor- 
ated, and  finally  was  absorbed  by  the  boroughs  of  Allegheny  and 
Manchester,  lying  on  either  side.  The  population  of  the  borough 
of  Allegheny,  according  to  the  census  of  1830,  was  2,810  persons, 
while  that  of  Pittsburgh  was  12,542  persons.  In  1840  the  census 
gave  the  population  of  Allegheny  at  10,089  persons,  while  that 
of  Pittsburgh  was  21,115. 

Among  the  institutions  which  have  given  the  name  of  Alle- 
gheny a  wide  degree  of  fame  is  the  Western  Theological  Sem- 

455 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

inary  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  which  had  its  beginning  at  the 
time  of  which  we  are  writing.  The  General  Assembly  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  having,  in  the  year  1825,  announced  its  intention 
to  erect  somewhere  in  the  country  west  of  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains an  institution  for  the  promotion  of  theological  instruction 
similar  to  that  already  established  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  appointed 
a  committee,  one  of  the  members  of  which  was  General  Andrew 
Jackson,  to  ascertain  where  such  an  institution  should  be  located. 
Many  cities  and  towns  in  the  western  country  held  out  induce- 
ments in  the  form  of  sites  and  grants  of  money  to  secure  the  loca- 
tion of  the  school  for  themselves.  The  citizens  of  Allegheny,  on 
November  the  nth,  1825,  held  a  town  meeting  and  offered  to 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  eighteen  acres 
and  thirty-seven  perches  of  the  common  ground  as  a  site  for  the 
new  institution.  The  General  Assembly  accepted  this  offer.  The 
act  of  the  landholders  in  Allegheny  was  approved  and  confirmed 
by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  under  date  of  April 
the  17th,  1827,  and  subsequently  by  an  act  passed  on  the  29th  day 
of  March,  1844.  The  ground  comprised  that  portion  of  what  is 
now  known  as  Monument  Hill,  lying  south  of  Ridge  street  and 
east  of  Irwin  avenue.  The  Seminary  subsequently  reconveyed  to 
the  city  of  Allegheny  all  of  this  tract  except  an  acre  at  the  corner 
of  Ridge  and  Irwin,  upon  which  some  of  the  seminary  buildings 
still  stand.  The  first  seminary  building  stood  on  the  top  of  Mon- 
ument Hill,  and  was  completed  in  1831,  at  a  cost  of  over  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars.  This  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  the 
24th  of  January,  1854.  The  Seminary  was  legally  incorporated 
in  1844. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  river  the  borough  of  Birmingham 
was  laid  out  by  Dr.  Nathaniel  Bedford  and  Isaac  Craig,  in  181 1. 
In  18 19  it  had  grown  to  a  hamlet  containing  between  fifty  and 
sixty  houses,  several  of  which  were  built  of  brick.  Thereafter  the 
borough  continued  to  grow  steadily.  The  borough  of  Lawrence- 
ville  was  laid  out  in  181 5  by  William  B.  Foster,  the  father  of 

456 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

Stephen  C.  Foster,  the  noted  composer  and  song-writer,  of  whom 
Pittsburgh  is  justly  proud.  .  The  motive  for  the  creation  of  the 
new  borough  was  the  buikhng  of  the  Allegheny  Arsenal  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  the  need  for  homes  for  the  operatives  con- 
nected with  this  great  establishment.  The  borough  of  Northern 
Liljerties  was  incorporated  1)y  an  act  passed  by  the  Legislature  on 
April  the  23d,  1829.  Bayardstown,  lying  between  Northern  Lib- 
erties and  Lawrenceville,  was  laid  out  by  (ieorge  A.  Bayard  about 
18 14.  Martin  Lowrie  was  burgess  of  Bayardstown  in  1829.  On 
the  main  stage-line  to  the  east  the  first  stopping  place,  where 
horses  were  changed,  was  a  little  hamlet  early  known  as  East  Lib- 
erty. Here,  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing,  a  cluster  of 
houses  had  sprung  up,  and  there  had  been  organized  a  Presby- 
terian church,  the  first  pastor  of  which  was  the  Rev.  William  B. 
Mcllvaine,  wdio  assumed  charge  in  1830  and  remained  the  pastor 
for  forty  years  thereafter.  Northern  Liberties  became  the  Fifth 
Ward  of  Pittsburgh  in  1837.  The  city  prior  to  this  date,  from 
1829,  had  contained  four  wards. 

The  protection  of  the  city  against  fire,  and  an  adequate  supply 
of  water,  were  subjects  which  began  to  engross  attention  at  an 
early  date.  In  1828  it  was  required  that  all  residences,  stores,  and 
warehouses,  renting  for  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  dollars  per  year, 
should  keep  one  leather  fire  bucket,  and,  those  renting  for  more 
than  one  hundred  dollars  per  year,  should  keep  two  such  buckets. 
The  question  of  supplying  the  city  of  Pittsburgh  with  water 
resulted  finally  in  the  construction  of  a  reservoir  on  Grant's  Hill, 
occupying  the  present  site  of  the  Frick  building,  which  was  filled 
with  water  pumped  into  it  from  a  pumping  station  located  on 
Cecil  alley  on  the  banks  of  the  Allegheny  river.  The  cost  of 
erecting  the  water  works,  on  January  the  ist,  1832,  was  $111,- 
086.52.  In  1833  a  deep  boring  on  the  south  side  of  the  Monon- 
gahela  river  discovered  a  body  of  salt  water  at  the  depth  of  six 
hundred  and  tw-enty-seven  feet.  This  led  to  the  creation  of 
establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  salt  within  the  city  limits, 

457 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

an  industry  which  still  continues  to  be  of  some  importance,  espe- 
cially in  the  city  of  Allegheny.  In  1835  the  population  of  Alle- 
gheny had  risen  to  over  five  thousand  souls,  and  several  large 
factories  for  the  manufacture  of  sheeting  and  other  forms  of  cot- 


John  Black 

First  professor  of  the  Ancient  Languages  in  the 
Western  University  of  Pennsylvania,  1822-1834. 
Was  in  early  life  the  tutor  and  friend  of  Ste- 
phen Decatur.  Photographed  especially  for  this 
work  from  a  portrait  by  Lambdin  in  possession 
of  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania 

ton  goods  were  established.  The  manufacture  of  cotton  goods 
from  this  time  forward  played  an  important  part  in  the  industries 
of  the  neighborhood,  and  continued  to  do  so  for  nearly  forty 
years  thereafter,  when,  owing  to  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war, 
and  the  consequent  difficulty  of  obtaining  raw  material  from  the 


458 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

South,  and  subsequently  to  the  competition  of  the  New  England 
mills  and  the  establishment  of  factories  nearer  the  supply  of  raw 
material,  this  branch  of  industry  gradually  ceased.  At  present 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods  in  Allegheny  county  has  been 
altogether  abandoned. 

As  Pittsburgh  and  its  environs  grew  in  population,  and  man- 
ufacture and  trade  increased  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  so  also 
did  a  corresponding  growth  take  place  all  through  the  region.  In 
1830  the  new  building  of  the  Western  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, at  that  time  the  finest  structure  within  the  city  limits,  was 
completed  at  the  corner  of  Fourth  avenue  and  Cherry  alley.  It 
was  the  pride  of  the  town.  Churches  multiplied.  The  Third 
Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  in  Pittsburgh  in  1833,  under 
the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  David  H.  Riddle.  Attracting  to  his 
ministrations  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the  city,  the  Third 
Church  presently  became  a  great  power  for  good  and  the  center 
of  many  philanthropic  movements.  Its  first  edifice  stood  at  the 
corner  of  Third  and  Ferry  streets.  The  corner  stone  of  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  was  laid  on  June  24,  1829.  Rev.  C.  B.  Maguire,  who 
labored  for  the  erection  of  the  new  edifice,  did  not  live  to  see  its 
completion,  having  been  carried  away  by  Asiatic  cholera  on  July 
17,  1833,  while  faithfully  discharging  his  duties  to  the  suffering. 
The  building  was  completed  and  dedicated  on  May  4th,  1834.  It 
was  subsequently,  on  May  6th,  1851,  destroyed  by  fire,  and 
replaced  by  the  present  structure,  which  was  dedicated  on  June 
24th,  1855.  In  1842  there  were  in  Pittsburgh,  Allegheny  and 
environs  seventy-six  congregations  of  various  Christian  denomi- 
nations and  fifty-five  church  edifices.  Of  these,  forty-six  congre- 
gations were  Presbyterian,  representing  the  various  branches  of 
this  family  of  churches. 

In  1840,  within  a  radius  of  ten  miles  of  the  court  house  tower, 
which  still  stood  in  the  Diamond  Market  Square,  although  the 
work  of  building  a  new  court  house  at  the  southeastern  corner  of 
Grant  and  Fifth  avenues  was  projected,  there  was  a  population 

459 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

of  about  fifty  thousand  souls.  Allegheny,  in  1837,  had  been 
incorporated  as  a  city  with  four  wards.  The  community  was 
prospering  as  few  other  communities  in  the  country  were  pros- 
pering at  this  time  and  during  the  years  that  immediately  fol- 
lowed. The  burning  question  of  transportation,  which  has  always 
played  a  prominent  part  in  the  minds  of  the  community,  at  this 
period  was  more  than  ever  prominent  because  of  the  evident  dawn 
of  the  day  when  the  locomotive  engine  was  to  take  precedence  over 
all  other  agencies  for  land  transportation.  As  early  as  1827  the 
discussion  of  the  establishment  of  railway  connections  between 
Pittsburgh  and  the  east  had  attracted  attention.  In  August  of 
that  year  Judge  Henry  Baldwin,  at  a  public  meeting,  delivered 
an  address  on  the  subject  of  a  railroad  from  Baltimore  to  Pitts- 
burgh. He  dwelt  upon  the  fact  that  the  legislature  of  Maryland 
had  incorporated  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  strongly 
advocated  action  looking  toward  an  effort  to  secure  an  extension 
of  this  railway  system  from  Baltimore  to  Pittsburgh.  In  July, 
1 83 1,  the  project  of  building  a  railroad  from  Pittsburgh  to  the 
Ohio  Canal  was  considered.  From  this  time  forward  railway 
conventions  were  held  at  frequent  intervals  and  various  lines  were 
advocated  or  projected,  but  nothing  much  beyond  preliminary 
discussion  seems  to  have  taken  place  until  in  the  early  years  of 
the  fifth  decade.  The  "Cleveland  Herald,"  in  one  of  its  issues  of 
March,  1843,  says:  "The  whistle  of  locomotives  among  the 
mountains  within  one  hundred  miles  of  Pittsburgh  makes  the 
wealthy  burghers  prick  up  their  ears,  and  already  the  subject  of  a 
railroad  from  Pittsburgh  to  Cumberland  is  exciting  no  little 
interest.  Build  the  road,  Pittsburghers,  and  then  we  will  see 
what  can  be  done  between  Cleveland  and  the  Iron  City."  To  this 
the  "Pittsburgh  American,"  in  an  April  issue  of  the  same  year, 
replied :  "We  are  going  to  build  it,  Mr.  Herald,  and  that  quick, 
too,  and  we  trust,  if  our  life  is  spared  but  a  very  few  years,  to  take 
a  locomotive  trip  to  Cleveland  on  our  way  to  Niagara  Falls,  Green 
Bay,  or  some  other  summer  resort  on  the  Great  Lakes.     We  will 

460 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  EN  F I  RONS 

give  you  a  call  then."  The  first  impulse  toward  the  development 
of  railways  into  the  region  arose  from  the  activities  of  the  people 
of  Baltimore  and  Maryland. 

But  while  the  community  was  prospering,  and,  in  spite  of  the 
terrible  experiences  of  the  financial  panic  of  1837,  was  full  of  hope 
and  enterprise,  a  dreadful  calamity  was  destined  to  overtake  the 
town.     On  April  loth,  1845,  about  noon,  a  fire  broke  out  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Second  avenue  and  Ferry  street,  which  swept 
forward  like  a  whirlwind  until  it  covered  a  space  of  fifty-six  acres, 
extending  along  the  Monongahela  side  of  the  town  from  the  place 
of  beginning  as  far  east  as  the  point  where  the  Tenth  street  or  Bir- 
mingham Bridge  is  located,  and  devouring  everything  from  the 
river  front  inwardly  as  far  as  Fourth  avenue  and  Wood  street  and 
from  Wood  and  Diamond  streets  to  Ross  Street.  Nine  hundred  and 
eighty-two  buildings  were  destroyed,  among  them  the  most  beau- 
tiful structure  in  the  town,  the  University  building,  with  its  valu- 
able and  historic  contents.    The  loss  has  been  variously  estimated 
as  amounting  to  from  three  to  ten  millions  of  dollars.     It  is 
believed  the  actual  loss  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  five  and  a  half 
millions.     This  was  a  staggering  blow.     Thousands  of  persons 
were  left  homeless  and  penniless  by  this  catastrophe.     The  Legis- 
lature exempted  the  holders  of  property  within  the  burnt  district 
from  taxation  for  a  period  of  four  years,  and  appropriated  fifty 
thousand  dollars   for  immediate  relief.      Other  American  cities 
and  towns  contributed  liberally,  and  private  charity  all  over  the 
State  and  the  land,  touched  by  the  necessities  of  the  unfortunate 
inhabitants,  promptly  rendered  assistance.     It  is  said  that  eight 
hundred  thousand  dollars  were  distributed  for  the  relief  of  the 
afflicted  people,  a  display  of  kindness  towards  Pittsburgh,  which 
Pittsburgh  has  never  forgotten,  but  which  she  has,  in  multitudes 
of  cases  since  that  time  of  disaster,  emulated,  notably  at  the  time 
of  the  great  Chicago  fire,  and  the  Johnstown  flood,  when  she 
showed  herself  not  unworthy  of  having  received  help  in  the  days 
of  her  own  sore  distress. 

461 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

The  ravages  of  great  fires  in  American  cities,  while  deplorable 
in  their  immediate  results,  have  proved  in  not  a  few  instances  to 
be  blessings  in  disguise.  This  was  in  a  measure  true  of  the  calam- 
ity which  overwhelmed  Pittsburgh  in  1845.  With  an  uncon- 
querable purpose,  the  people  set  themselves  to  the  task  of  repair- 
ing their  losses  and  rebuilding  their  desolated  homes.  The  result 
was  the  erection  of  many  structures  better  and  more  substantial 
than  those,  which  had  been  swept  away.  At  the  same  time  there 
came  into  the  place  a  large  number  of  persons,  who  realized  that 
there  was  a  great  and  growing  future  before  the  community.  The 
city  not  only  speedily  succeeded  in  healing  the  black  and  ugly  scar 
left  by  the  fire,  but  began  to  grow  and  stretch  out  in  every  direc- 
tion over  the  hills  to  the  north  and  the  east  of  the  area  originally 
occupied  by  the  first  four  wards.  In  1845  ^'""^l  1846  four  new 
wards,  the  Sixth,  Seventh,  Eighth  and  Ninth  were  added  to  the 
city.  In  the  fall  of  1846  it  was  reported  that  two  thousand  five 
hundred  Imildings  had  been  erected  within  the  city  limits  for  that 
year,  and  in  the  year  following  nearly  as  many  more  were  erected. 
In  the  burnt  district  alone  more  than  six  hundred  buildings  had 
been  constructed  during  these  two  years.  The  water-works 
which  had  been  erected  in  the  early  years  of  the  fourth  decade 
soon  proved  inadequate  to  the  growing  demands  of  the  commu- 
nity, and  a  new  reservoir,  located  on  Bedford  avenue,  and  new 
pumping  engines  were  speedily  called  for  and  provided.  The  old 
reservoir  on  Grant  street  was  thereafter  abandoned  and  the  lot 
sold.  Upon  a  portion  of  the  ground  occupied  by  it  St.  Peter's 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  was  erected  at  a  later  date,  only  to 
gave  way  in  quite  recent  years  to  the  magnificent  Frick  building. 
The  lighting  of  the  city  of  Pittsburgh  by  gas  had  been  initiated 
as  early  as  1829  by  the  Pittsburgh  Gas  Company.  Out  of  the 
small  beginning  made  at  that  time  grew  up  the  vast  system  for 
gas  lighting  existing  at  the  present  day.  In  185 1  the  citizens  of 
Allegheny  not  only  undertook  to  provide  a  system  of  gas  lighting 
for  that  community,  but  also  to  provide  water-works.     Prior  to 

462 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

this  date  the  people  of  Allegheny  had  depended  upon  wells  and 
cisterns  for  their  water  supply.  The  paving  of  streets  was  begun 
with  vigor  about  the  middle  of  the  century;  and  the  wharves 
along  the  Monongahcla  and  the  Allegheny  were  paved  and 
assumed  the  appearance  which  they  have  maintained  down  to  the 


W.  W.  Irwin 

Mayor  of  Pittsburgh,  1840;  member  of  Con- 
gress, 1840;  United  States  minister  to  Den- 
mark, 1843.  Engraved  especially  for  this  work 
from  an  original  photograph  in  possession  of  Dr. 
W.  J.  Holland 

present  time,  except  as  they  have  been  modified  by  changes 
brought  about  by  the  erection  of  various  bridges  spanning  the 
streams.  About  this  time  a  few  houses  began  to  make  their 
appearance  upon  the  top  of  the  bluffs  above  the  Monongahela 
river,  on  the  southern  side  of  the  river,  and  the  first  movement 
took  place  for  the  utilization  of  this  region,  now  the  center  of 
great  and  growing  suburbs.     Meanwhile  population  began  slowly 


463 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

to  press  eastward  toward  the  districts  known  as  Oakland  and 
East  Liberty,  but  residences  established  here  were  for  the  most 
part  the  homes  of  wealthy  men,  who  desired  a  measure  of  rural 
retirement  and  who  were  able  to  maintain  communication  with 
the  city  proper  by  means  of  private  conveyances.  No  public 
means  of  conveyance  were  as  yet  provided,  nor,  indeed,  thought 
of,  until  1859,  when  the  Citizens'  Passenger  Railway,  running 
from  Fifth  and  Market  streets  by  way  of  Liberty  street  and  Cecil 
alley  to  Penn  street,  and  by  the  Pittsburgh  and  Greensburg  Turn- 
pike to  the  suburbs  was  incorporated.  The  principal  cluster  of 
suburban  residences  was  in  Oakland,  and  was  known  as  the  "Third 
Church  Colony,"  because  the  owners  were  principally  in  the  com- 
munion of  that  church.  East  Liberty  was  also  beginning  to 
grow  rapidly. 

The  question  of  railway  transportation  came  up  with  renewed 
interest  in  the  years  immediately  succeeding  "The  Great  Fire." 
Railways  from  Pittsburgh  to  Cleveland,  from  Pittsburgh  to  Con- 
nellsvllle,  thence  to  be  carried  to  a  connection  with  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  in  Maryland,  from  Pittsburgh  to  Kittanning,  from 
Pittsburgh  to  Wheeling,  from  Pittsburgh  to  Steubenville,  and 
from  Pittsburgh  to  Philadelphia,  were  projected.  The  commis- 
sioners of  Allegheny  county  were  authorized  to  lend  assistance 
to  these  various  enterprises,  and  obligations  were  assumed  which, 
in  about  ten  years,  aggregated  the  sum  of  $5,500,000.  Obliga- 
tions of  a  similar  nature  were  assumed  by  the  cities  of  Pittsburgh 
and  Allegheny,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  an  indebted- 
ness had  been  assumed  on  this  behalf  which  hung  like  a  millstone 
about  the  neck  of  the  community.  Meanwhile  the  work  of  rail- 
way construction  went  on  with  wonderful  rapidity.  By  the  fall 
of  185 1  "express"  trains  left  the  railway  depot  on  Liberty  street 
for  Turtle  Creek  every  morning  at  6 :30,  connecting  at  Turtle 
Creek  with  stages  which  conveyed  passengers  east  to  Beatty  Sta- 
tion, where  they  again  resumed  travel  by  rail  and  reached  Phila- 
delphia on  the  following  day.    The  fare  from  Pittsburgh  to  Phil- 

464 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

adelphia  was  $ii.oo.  In  1854  the  Mountain  Division  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railway  was  opened  for  traffic  and  the  Portage 
Railway,  which  had  heen  used  by  the  company  from  1848,  fell 
into  disuse.  In  1857  the  property  of  the  Pennsylvania  Canal  was 
finally  and  formally  transferred  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  and 
practically  abandoned.  By  July  the  ist,  1851,  the  rails  of  the 
Cleveland  and  Pittsburgh  Railway  were  laid  as  far  as  New 
Brighton,  and  connection  was  established  with  the  Cleveland  and 
Cincinnati  Railway  by  October  ist.  In  Noveml^er,  1856,  the 
Pittsburgh,  Fort  Wayne  and  Chicago  Railway  was  opened  for 
through  traffic  to  Chicago.  The  road  was  the  result  of  the  merg- 
ing and  consolidation  of  three  other  lines.  From  this  time  for- 
ward the  progress  of  railway  developments  was  continuous 
throughout  the  Avestern  country,  and  Pittsburgh,  having  estab- 
lished herself  as  a  focal  point  of  railway  enterprise,  saw  her 
future  industrial  and  commercial  success  on  the  way  to  be 
certainly  realized  as  never  before. 

The  development  of  manufacturing  and  of  mining  within  the 
region  made  great  advances  from  1845  to  i860,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that,  owing  to  the  tariff  of  1846,  the  iron  industry,  in  partic- 
ular, was  during  much  of  the  period  in  a  languishing  condition. 
The  European  manufacturer  of  iron  was  able  at  this  time  to 
boldly  enter  the  American  market  and  undersell  the  native  pro- 
ducer. All  the  countless  appliances  and  processes  for  cheapening 
the  production  of  iron,  which  have  given  America  and  the  Pitts- 
burgh district,  in  particular,  the  supremacy  in  this  important 
domain  of  industry,  remained  as  yet  to  be  invented,  and  the 
depression  of  the  early  fifties,  followed  by  the  panic  of  1857,  make 
this  time,  while  it  witnessed  some  of  the  most  marvelous  advances 
of  the  age,  very  memorable  also  because  of  the  sore  financial  dis- 
tress which  was  felt  all  over  the  United  States.  Pittsburgh 
endured  the  strain  at  this  period  even  better  than  she  had  borne 
the  troublous  days  of  1819  and  1837;  but  very  great  distress  was 
felt. 

3-30  465 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

The  war  with  Mexico,  from  1846  to  1848,  demonstrated  the 
great  importance  of  Pittsburgh  as  a  depot  for  mihtary  supphes. 
Much  of  the  artillery  used  in  the  struggle  and  a  vast  quantity  of 
the  military  equipment  came  from  Pittsburgh  factories  and  from 
the  Allegheny  Arsenal.  Pittsburgh  was  made  the  rendezvous  of 
the  regiments  from  the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania,  and  they 
were  transported  by  river  from  Pittsburgh  to  New  Orleans,  and 
there  embarked  for  the  scene  of  conflict.  The  troops  recruited  in 
Pittsburgh  gave  a  good  account  of  themselves  on  the  soil  of 
Mexico.  The  warlike  activity  of  the  nation  did  not  much  more 
than  cause  a  ripple  in  the  general  flow  of  business  enterprise  in 
the  region.  Mexico  was  far  away,  and,  while  men  read  the  news 
of  what  was  going  on,  and  dwelt  with  pride  upon  the  exploits  of 
their  neighbors  and  friends,  who  had  gone  forth  to  fight  under  the 
flag  of  their  country,  the  affairs  of  banks,  mills,  factories,  and 
mines  claimed  the  larger  attention.  The  industrial  development 
of  the  community  went  on  apace.  The  trade  in  coal  with  lower 
river  ports  grew  steadily  and  came  soon  to  be  in  volume  and  finan- 
cial amount  second  only  to  the  trade  in  iron  and  its  products.  The 
manufacture  of  glassware  increased  enormously.  The  building 
of  locomotive  engines,  which  had  been  already  carried  on  as  early 
as  1837  in  a  small  way,  was  resumed.  The  construction  of  ma- 
chinery of  various  forms  was  extensive.  The  building  of  river 
steamboats  reached  a  height,  in  1857,  never  equaled  before,  or 
since.  The  population  of  the  two  cities  of  Pittsburgh  and  Alle- 
gheny had  risen,  in  1850,  to  nearly  58,000,  and  of  the  county  of 
Allegheny  to  138,290.  In  i860  the  population  of  the  two  cities 
was,  collectively,  78,000  and  of  the  county  178,831  souls.  The 
railway  developments  and  the  increased  facilities  for  intercourse 
with  different  parts  of  the  country  had  not  a  little  to  do  with  this. 
But  there  were  other  factors  of  a  strictly  human  kind  at  work. 
The  generation  of  very  conservative  business  men,  who  had  done 
much,  indeed,  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  region,  was  being 
gradually  supplanted  by  a  younger  generation  of  even  broader 

466 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

views  and  more  intense  courage,  the  stimulus  of  whose  enter- 
prise was  beginning  to  be  felt  in  many  directions.  As  the  seventh 
decade  of  the  century  approached  there  was  found  in  Pittsburgh 
a  remarkable  body  of  men,   some  of  whom  were  destined  to 


Wilson  McCandless 

United  States  district  judge;  prominent  in  the 
political  life  of  Western  Pennsylvania;  born  1810; 
died  1882.     By  courtesy  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Holland 

become  known  over  the  entire  land  as  leaders  and  organizers  of 
effort.  William  Thaw,  Curtis  G.  Hussey,  Thomas  M.  Howe, 
James  K.  Moorhead,  B.  F.  Jones,  Henry  Lloyd,  James  Laughlin, 
James  Park,  Jr.,  William  Frew,  Andrew  Carnegie  and  a  score  of 
other  able  men  were  beginning,  as  the  great  struggle  of  the  civil 
war  drew  on  apace,  to  show  already  of  what  superb  faculties  they 
were  the  possessors.    Of  such  men  any  city  might  well  be  proud. 


467 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

and,  with  such  men  as  industrial  and  commercial  leaders,  no  city, 
especially  one  possessing  the  natural  advantages  of  the  Iron  City^ 
could  long  be  held  back  from  achieving  distinction.  Seated  in 
his  law  office  was  another  quiet  man,  of  whom  the  nation  was  soon 
to  hear  much,  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  whose  broad  shoulders  soon 
were  to  assume  a  burden  like  that  of  Atlas.  In  the  pulpits  of  Pitts- 
burgh were  men  of  great  power.  They  stood  solidly  for  truth 
and  humanity.  In  old  "Lafayette  Hall,"  which  long  stood  on 
Fourth  avenue  upon  the  site  to-day  occupied  by  the  Tradesmen's 
Bank,  on  February  22,  1856,  the  Republican  party  was  born. 
The  call  for  the  meeting  was  as  follows : 

"To  the  Republicans  of  the  United  States : — In  accordance 
with  what  appears  to  be  a  general  desire  of  the  republican  party, 
and  at  the  suggestion  of  a  large  portion  of  the  republican  press, 
the  undersigned  chairmen  of  the  State  republican  committees  of 
Maine,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
Michigan,  Indiana,  and  Wisconsin  hereby  invite  the  Republicans 
of  the  Union  to  meet  in  informal  convention  at  Pittsburgh  on  the 
22d  of  February,  1856,  for  the  purpose  of  perfecting  the  national 
organization  and  providing  for  a  national  delegate  convention  of 
the  Republican  party  at  some  subsequent  day  to  nominate  candi- 
dates for  the  presidency  and  vice-presidency,  to  be  supported  at 
the  election  in  November. 

"David  Wilmot  of  Pennsylvania. 

"Lawrence  Brainard  of  Vermont. 

"William  A.  White  of  Wisconsin. 

"A.  P.  Stone  of  Ohio. 

"J.  Z.  Goodrich  of  Massachusetts." 
Among  those  who  were  present  at  the  convention  were 
Abraham  Lincoln,  Owen  Lovejoy,  Horace  Greeley,  Oliver  P. 
Morton,  Zachary  Chandler,  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  E.  D.  Morgan, 
E.  R.  Hoar,  Francis  P.  Blair,  and  a  host  of  others,  whose  names 
became  household  words  in  the  great  struggle,  which  presently 
was  to  involve  the  nation.     The  sentiment  of  Pittsburgh  was 

468 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

strongly  opposed  to  human  slavery  and  the  disruption  of  the 
union  of  the  States.  When,  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  Fremont  and 
Dayton,  the  nominees  of  the  republican  party,  were  voted  for, 
I'ittsburgh,  Cleveland,  and  Chicago  were  the  only  great  American 
cities,  which  showed  themselves  by  large  majorities  to  be  in  favor 
of  the  principles  and  policies  outlined  by  the  convention  of  Febru- 
ary 22d.  Four  years  more  brought  about  an  entire  revolution  in 
sentiment  throughout  the  Northern  States,  and  when,  in  Novem- 
ber, i860,  the  vote  for  presidential  electors  was  cast,  it  was  found 
that  "the  State  of  Allegheny,"  as  Mr.  Lincoln  called  the  county, 
had  by  an  overwhelming  majority  recorded  herself  again  on  the 
side  of  freedom  and  the  maintenance  of  the  Union.  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  elected  president  of  the  United  States  and  the  fires 
of  secession  began  to  burn  brightly  south  of  Mason  &  Dixon's 
line. 

Before  passing  on  to  consider  the  part  which  Pittsburgh  took 
in  the  great  civil  war  it  is  proper  to  pause  for  a  moment  to  glance 
at  the  progress  which  had  been  made  along  the  lines  of  culture 
and  social  improvement  in  the  community  during  the  fifteen  years 
which  had  passed  between  the  great  fire  and  the  momentous  era 
which  we  are  approaching. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  fire  swept  out  of  existence  the  buildings 
of  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania.  A  new  building 
was  at  once  erected  upon  Duquesne  Way,  and  the  work  of  instruc- 
tion was  resumed,  but  again,  in  1849,  this  edifice  was  devoured  by 
flames.  Thenceforward,  until  in  1857,  there  occurred  an  inter- 
regnum in  the  work  of  instruction.  In  1857  a  new  site  was  pur- 
chased at  the  southwestern  corner  of  Ross  and  Diamond  streets, 
a  suitable  edifice  was  built,  and  a  faculty  was  organized.  William 
Thaw,  an  alumnus  of  the  University,  came  forward  presently 
with  substantial  offers  of  assistance^  and  from  this  time  onward 
the  story  of  the  University  has  been  that  of  slow  but  steady 
growth.  The  department  of  astronomy  (the  Allegheny  Obser- 
vatory) had  its  inception  at  this  time.     The  brilliant  researches 

469 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

conducted  here  by  Professor  Samuel  P.  Langley  and  James  E. 
Keeler  in  later  years  gave  a  worldwide  fame  to  the  institution. 
While  the  university  was  taking  on  a  new  life  the  common  school 
system  of  the  city  was  being  perfected.  In  the  face  of  some  oppo- 
sition the  Central  High  School  came  into  being,  and  the  citizens 
began  with  commendable  zeal  to  apply  themselves  to  the  task  of 
bringing  an  elementary  education  within  the  reach  of  all  the  chil- 
dren of  the  community.  Churches  multiplied  as  rapidly  as  did 
the  schools.  Incipient  efforts  were  made  to  create  public  libraries. 
Hospitals  for  the  sick  and  the  insane  and  asylums  for  the  destitute 
began  to  be  provided,  and  all  the  humanizing  and  enlightening 
agencies  of  a  great  and  growing  city  full  of  Christian  men  and 
women  began  to  assume  nascent  form.  It  is  true  that,  compared 
with  what  has  taken  place  in  more  recent  years,  the  results 
achieved  do  not  at  first  strike  the  student  as  having  been  great, 
but  these  early  efforts  held  within  themselves  the  germ  of  those 
movements  and  the  seed  of  those  sentiments  which  in  later  years 
have  borne  a  rich  fruitage  of  good  to  the  community. 

The  social  life  of  the  period  was  characterized  by  the  display 
of  much  genuine  hospitality.  Among  the  civic  guests  received 
with  honor  was  the  Prince  of  Wales,  now  King  Edward  VII.  of 
England,  who  visited  the  city  in  1858.  Pittsburgh,  in  1825,  had 
welcomed  the  great  Lafayette,  whose  foster  brother,  the  father  of 
the  Hon.  Eelix  R.  Brunot,  was  a  resident  of  the  place;  in  1842 
she  had  extended  a  cordial  welcome  to  Charles  Dickens,  the 
famous  English  novelist,  who  apparently  did  not  quite  appreciate 
the  hospitality  shown  him,  and  in  1851  she  had  hailed  with 
acclaim  Louis  Kossuth ;  but  she  strove  as  never  before,  in  1858, 
to  show  her  appreciatiion  of  the  presence  of  the  young  heir  to  the 
British  crown.  Many  distinguished  visitors  have  entered  her 
gates  since  then,  but  by  the  older  generation  the  visit  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales  is  always  remembered  with  pride  and  pleasure. 

The  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  presidency  of  the 
United  States  was  not  believed  by  the  people  of  Pittsburgh,  or  of 

470 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

the  Northern  States  generally,  to  be  likely  to  lead  to  overt  acts  of 
secession  on  the  part  of  the  South.  The  feeling  and  attitude  of 
the  leaders  in  the  South  was  not  at  first  thoroughly  understood. 
Events  which  occurred  in  rapid  succession  tended  to  dispel  all 
illusions.  Among  the  acts  of  the  democratic  administration  at 
Washington,  which  provoked  great  excitement  in  Pittsburgh,  was 
the  order  of  Secretary  Floyd,  the  secretary  of  war,  to  hurry  to 
various  points  in  the  South  vast  supplies  of  military  stores  and  of 
cannon,  which  were  concentrated  at  the  Allegheny  Arsenal,  or 
lying  ready  for  shipment  at  the  Fort  Pitt  Foundry.  The  evident 
intention  of  Secretary  Floyd  to  place  the  munitions  of  war  belong- 
ing to  the  national  government  within  the  power  of  the  people  of 
the  States,  which  were  already  taking  steps  to  break  up  the  Union, 
led  the  people  of  Pittsburgh  not  only  to  enter  a  most  solemn  and 
decided  protest,  but  to  organize  themselves  for  resistance.  Major 
Symington,  who  was  in  command  of  the  arsenal,  succeeded,  in 
spite  of  the  rising  popular  indignation,  in  having  conveyed  to  the 
South  over  10,000  muskets  and  vast  quantities  of  other  stores,  but 
when  it  came  to  moving  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  cannon, 
which  had  been  made  in  Pittsburgh,  the  people  rose  up  in  their 
might  and  declared  that  such  a  movement  should  not  be  allowed. 
The  details  of  the  conflict  we  cannot  record,  but  in  the  end  popular 
indignation  triumphed,  and  the  cannon,  some  of  which  had 
already  been  hauled  to  the  Monongahela  wharf  and  placed  upon 
the  steamer  "Silver  Wave"  for  shipment,  were  returned  to  the 
arsenal. 

When  the  first  call  for  troops  was  made  by  President  Lincoln 
intense  excitement  arose.  War  meetings  were  held  and  a  com- 
mittee of  public  safety,  composed  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the 
county,  was  formed.  Two  thousand  men  were  promptly  gathered 
as  volunteers,  organized,  and  sent  forward  for  duty,  and  others 
quickly  followed.  When  the  news  of  the  disaster  at  Bull  Run 
reached  the  city  and  a  call  for  troops  to  the  number  of  300,000  to 
enlist  for  three  years'  service  was  made,  the  county  responded  at 

471 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

once,  exceeding  with  her  volunteers  the  quota  of  troops  which 
were  called  for  from  the  vicinity.  By  the  fall  of  the  year  1862  the 
county  had  over  thirteen  thousand  enlisted  men  in  the  field,  and  it 
was  ascertained  that  no  draft  for  men  from  the  county  was 
required.  Before  the  war  closed  the  county  put  thirty  thousand 
men  into  the  field,  of  which  number  fully  four  thousand  were  left 
dead  upon  the  fields  of  battle.  Meanwhile  the  busy  population 
was  engaged  with  energy  in  providing  the  munitions  of  war  called 
for  by  the  government.  In  February,  1862,  Mr.  Knapp  of  the 
firm  of  Knapp  &  Wade  informed  the  committee  on  ordnance  of 
the  lower  house  of  Congress  that  his  firm  could  supply  the  govern- 
ment with  1,000  Columbiads  of  the  largest  size  and  100  Rod- 
man 20-inch  guns  annually.  This  firm  was  in  many  respects  one 
of  the  chief  supports  of  the  government  in  providing  ordnance 
for  the  public  defense.  In  old  Fort  Pitt  Foundry  were  cast 
the  mortars  which  silenced  the  batteries  at  Vicksburg  and  the 
cannon  which  roared  forth  victory  under  Farragut  at  Mobile  and 
at  New  Orleans.  Cannon  made  in  the  white  heats  of  Pittsburgh 
furnaces  did  their  deadly  work  in  a  hundred  fights  by  sea  and  land 
in  those  days  of  terrible  conflict.  The  biggest  cannon  at  that  time 
in  the  world  was  cast  in  Pittsburgh  on  February  11,  1864.  From 
the  machines  invented  for  the  making  of  bullets  in  Pittsburgh 
were  poured  forth  in  a  steady  stream  the  missiles  which,  dashing 
from  the  throats  of  half  a  million  of  rifles,  by  their  leaden  rain 
quenched  at  last  the  fires  of  rebellion  throughout  the  land.  The 
boat-yards  of  Pittsburgh  were  as  active  as  the  foundries  and  the 
factories  in  supplying  the  needs  of  the  government.  In  the  year 
1862  a  number  of  river  steamboats  were  built  for  the  government 
to  be  used  as  gunboats,  five  tugs  were  converted  into  rams  and 
were  attached  to  the  Mississippi  flotilla.  The  building  of  iron- 
clads and  monitors  was  taken  up.  The  gunboat  Marietta,  built 
by  Tomlinson,  Hartupie  &  Co.,  was  launched  on  November  22d, 
1864.  The  ironclad  monitor  Manayunk,  built  by  Snowden  & 
Mason,  was  launched  from  the  south  end  of  the  Monongahela 

472 


V  3 


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PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

Bridge  on  December  i8th.  She  was  1,400  tons  burden,  225  feet 
in  length,  43  in  beam,  and  drew  12  feet  of  water.  Her  armor, 
made  of  Sligo  iron,  was  furnished  by  Messrs.  Lyon,  Shorb  &  Co. 
She  was  towed  down  the  Ohio  and  subsequently  went  to  sea. 
Other  boats  of  the  same  class  quickly  followed  from  the  shipyards 
of  the  same  firm. 

The  intense  activity  which  prevailed  in  manufacturing  gov- 
ernment supplies  was  supplemented  by  most  diligent  effort  to 
minister  to  the  necessities  of  the  troops  constantly  passing  through 
the  city  or  quartered  in  the  various  camps  which  were  maintained 
in  Pittsburgh  for  drilling  and  organizing  troops.  Nor  were  the 
needs  of  the  soldiers  in  the  field  forgotten.  The  Pittsburgh 
branches  of  the  Christian  Commission  and  of  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission did  noble  work.  It  is  estimated  that  between  them  nearly 
two  millions  of  dollars  in  money  and  supplies  were  raised.  The 
families  of  local  volunteers  were  also  generously  cared  for  by  the 
committee  of  local  safety. 

At  times  the  community  was  thrilled  by  the  fear  of  attack. 
Again  and  again  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania  was  invaded  by  the 
Southern  armies.  In  1863,  when  the  invasion  by  General  Lee  was 
known  to  be  imminent,  a  gathering  of  the  citizens  of  the  two  cities 
was  held  on  the  Diamond  in  Allegheny.  General  Thomas  M. 
Howe,  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in  all  public  measures  since  the 
outbreak  of  the  war,  addressed  the  meeting,  warning  the  citizens  of 
the  impending  danger  and  urging  prompt  steps  to  fortify  the  city. 
The  business  men  of  the  community  promptly  responded,  and, 
closing  their  stores,  mills,  and  factories,  sent  all  their  employees, 
who  could  be  gathered,  armed  with  picks  and  shovels,  to  work 
upon  entrenchments,  which  had  been  laid  out  by  General  Barnard. 
Mount  Washington,  Herron,  Harbison,  Squirrel,  Davis',  Gaz- 
zam's,  Cemetery,  Robinson's,  Hazlett's,  McKeever's,  Turtle  Creek, 
and  McGuire's  Hills  were  fortified  with  extensive  earthworks, 
the  remains  of  which  are  visible  in  many  of  these  places  to  the 
present  day.     As  many  as  6,000  men  were  engaged  in  laboring 

475 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

upon  the  trenches  and  rifle-pits  at  the  same  time.  The  New  York 
"Times,"  in  commenting  upon  the  difference  between  the  people  of 
Harrisburg  and  of  Pittsburgh,  said  that  "the  people  of  Harris- 
burg  have  taken  to  their  heels  and  the  people  of  Pittsburgh  to  the 
earthworks  and  their  guns."  This  show  of  energy  and  determi- 
nation was  thoroughly  characteristic  of  the  people  of  the  city  at 
that  time. 

During  the  four  long  years  of  the  colossal  war,  with  alter- 
nating hope  and  fear,  the  people  of  the  city  held  their  way.  Grad- 
ually victory  began  to  succeed  victory,  and  when  at  last  the 
mighty  struggle  issued  in  the  triumph  of  the  arms  of  the  Union, 
the  joy  of  the  populace  knew  no  bounds.  The  news  of  the  evacu- 
ation of  Richmond  was  by  a  common  impulse  seized  upon  by  the 
entire  community  as  an  occasion  for  rejoicing.  Fires  were 
drawn,  the  mills  were  shut  down,  the  people  turned  out  en  masse, 
cannon  roared  salutes,  the  church  bells  rang,  impromptu  speeches 
were  made  on  the  street  corners  and  in  halls  and  churches.  The 
"Gazette"  of  April  5th,  1865,  commenting  upon  the  occasion,  said  : 
"Our  city  continued  jolly  all  day  yesterday  and  last  night,  and  it 
is  so  yet.  In  fact,  it  is  a  growing  complaint.  The  thing  refuses 
to  stop,  and  is  becoming  decidedly  chronic.  The  rolling-mills, 
the  factories,  the  foundries,  and  workshops  stopped  all  of  a  sud- 
den and  refuse  to  start  again.  The  entire  city  has  taken  to  the 
street  and  refuses  to  go  in,  rain  or  shine.  The  men  are  jolly,  the 
women  are  jolly,  the  children  are  jolly,  everybody  is  jolly,  and 
there  is  no  knowing  where  the  thing  will  stop."  But  the  gladness 
brought  about  by  the  news  of  the  final  downfall  of  the  armed 
forces  of  rebellion  and  the  dawn  of  peace  was  speedily  over- 
clouded by  the  tragedy  of  April  13.  The  news  of  the  assassina- 
tion of  President  Lincoln  was  received  on  the  morning  of  April 
14.  The  cheeks  of  brave  men  grew  pale  with  horror  and  indig- 
nation, and  every  face  was  wet  with  tears.  The  feeling  of  men 
was  voiced  by  one  who  said :  "This  is  the  saddest  news  the  earth 
has  heard  since  the  Saviour  was  crucified."  The  city  was  plunged 

476 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

into  mourning.  Tlie  bed  in  which  President  Lincohi  had  slept 
at  the  Monongahela  House  when  on  his  way  to  assume  the  Pres- 
idency, the  same  which  had  once  been  occupied  by  the  Prince  of 
Wales  upon  his  visit,  was  draped  with  black,  and  every  house  in 
the  city  displayed  the  somber  symbols  of  heartfelt  grief. 

The  end  of  the  struggle  for  the  preservation  of  the  national 
life  brought  back  to  their  homes  the  brave  men  who  had  gone 
forth  to  serve  their  country.  It  was  not  to  idleness  that  they 
returned.  The  stimulus  of  those  stern  days  had  moulded  men  for 
action,  and  the  great  continent  lay  before  them  ready  to  be  taken 
by  the  hands  of  men  and  used.  Nothing  more  wonderful  in  the 
annals  of  mankind  has  ever  been  recorded  than  the  way  in  which 
the  millions  of  men  under  arms  were  quickly  swallowed  up  in 
the  great  army  of  human  industry,  which  had  set  itself  to  reclaim 
a  continent  from  its  wilderness  state  and  make  it  the  fruitful 
abode  of  civilized  men.  In  this  work  Pittsburgh  played  a  mighty 
part. 

When  the  war  broke  out  it  was  believed  that  trade,  com- 
merce, and  manufactures  were  ruined.  But  the  needs  of  the  time 
were  such  as  presently  to  call  for  the  putting  forth  of  every 
energy  to  meet  new  and  growing  demands.  It  was  not  merely 
munitions  of  war  which  were  called  for.  Railways  and  engines 
were  to  be  built,  machinery  was  to  be  provided,  a  thousand  things 
were  demanded  which  only  skilled  labor  could  supply.  Though 
it  was  a  time  of  war,  it  was  a  time  when  every  form  of  human 
industry  was  called  into  requisition. 

In  the  midst  of  this  activity  western  Pennsylvania  found  her- 
self suddenly  confronted  with  opportunities  of  which  she  had 
never  dreamed,  which  were  destined  to  add  wonderfully  to  her 
wealth  and  to  her  industries.  It  had  been  known  from  the  very 
earliest  settlement  of  the  region  that  mineral  oil  existed  here  and 
there.  The  Moravian  missionary,  Heckewelder,  found  oil  upon 
the  banks  of  what  was  later  known  as  Oil  creek,  and  records  the 
uses  to  which  it  was  put  by  the  Indians.     In  the  fourth  and  fifth 

477 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

decades  of  the  century  crude  petroleum  was  collected  and  sold  in 
small  bottles  as  a  remedy  for  rheumatism.  In  185 1  S.  M.  Kier 
of  Pittsburgh  succeeded  in  partially  refining  the  oil,  and  sold  con- 
siderable quantities  as  a  medicinal  remedy.  In  1857  W.  McKeown 
started  a  refinery  in  the  First  Ward,  Allegheny,  and  sold  some  of 
the  product  for  illuminating  purposes.  The  Drake  well  was 
bored  in  1859,  and  from  that  time  forward  the  growth  of  the  oil 
industry  was  marvelous.  The  natural  center  of  this  industry  was 
Pittsburgh,  and  in  later  years  Allegheny  county  and  the  adjacent 
parts  of  Washington  county  became  the  most  productive  fields 
from  which  the  green  fluid  was  drawn.  During  the  years  of  the 
civil  war  and  those  immediately  following  the  oil  industry  en- 
gaged much  attention  in  Pittsburgh.  By  February,  1865,  there 
had  been  formed  in  Pittsburgh  and  vicinity  sixty-three  oil  com- 
panies, with  an  aggregate  capital  of  $21,600,000,  and  the  produc- 
tion was  30,000  barrels  per  week.  Refining  was  carried  on  exten- 
sively, and  in  1867  there  were  fifty-eight  concerns  engaged  in  this 
industry.  But  all  that  was  swept  away  as  the  Standard  Oil  Com- 
pany gradually  assumed  a  monopoly  of  the  business. 

More  important  to  Pittsburgh  even  than  the  development  of 
the  oil  industry  was  the  discovery  of  the  possibility  of  utilizing 
her  great  stores  of  coal  in  the  manufacture  of  coke,  and  thus  of 
pig-metal.  As  early  as  181 3  John  Beal,  an  Englishman,  pro- 
posed to  the  owners  of  blast  furnaces  "to  instruct  them  in  the 
method  of  converting  stone  coal  into  cook."  His  wise  and  benev- 
olent intention  did  not  apparently  meet  with  much  success,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  period  immediately  antedating  the  civil  war 
that  the  iron  manufacturers  of  Pittsburgh  and  its  vicinity  began 
to  awaken  to  the  possibilities  of  their  situation,  and  to  direct  their 
attention  to  the  superior  advantages  which  they  possessed  in  the 
vast  supply  of  coking  coal,  which  lay  at  their  very  doors.  From 
1859  onward  the  manufacture  of  coke  began  to  play  an  impor- 
tant part  in  the  industries  of  the  region,  and  the  way  was  paved 
thereby  for  that  supremacy  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel 

478 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

which  has  made  Pittsburgh  the  chief  center  of  this  industry  upon 
the  globe. 

It  was  not,  however,  only  as  a  center  of  the  iron  industry  that 
Pittsburgh  was  to  become  known.  The  enterprise  of  her  busy 
sons  had  reached  out  to  the  region  of  the  great  lakes.  She  be- 
came a  potent  factor  in  the  development  of  the  copper  mines  of 
Lake  Superior,  and  the  manufacture  of  copper  and  its  alloys 
assumed  a  prominent  part  in  her  industries.    The  old  business  of 


Second  Allegheny  County  Court  House 

Destroyed    by    fire,    1882.     Engraved    especially 
for   this   work   from  an   old  print 

glass-making  flourished  and  grew  apace,  only  in  more  recent 
years,  with  the  discovery  of  the  applicability  of  natural  gas  as  a 
fuel  to  rise  to  yet  greater  proportions.  As  her  manufactures  and 
trade  grew,  her  banking  capital  expanded,  and  in  a  thousand  dif- 
ferent channels  her  energies  flowed  out  to  meet  the  wants  of  men. 
But  the  human  element  is  ever  the  most  important  factor  in 
affairs.  What  are  natural  resources  if  there  be  not  the  cunning 
brain  and  the  masterful  will  to  utilize  them?  Pittsburgh  was 
happy  in  the  virile  strength  and  quick  energy  of  her  tireless  pop- 
ulation, and  the  presence  in  her  midst  of  men  possessed  of  that 


479 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

power  of  organization  and  control  which  evolves  from  things 
seemingly  insignificant  results  which  are  great.  Among  the 
names  which  began  to  be  heard  often  in  the  years  of  which  we 
are  speaking  was  that  of  a  young  Scotchman,  who,  trained  in  the 
school  of  youthful  adversity,  had  come  to  be  reckoned  as  the  pos- 
sessor of  a  master  mind  in  the  field  of  manufacture  and  com- 
merce— Andrew  Carnegie.  Another  young  man  of  whom  the 
world  was  to  hear  much  came  to  make  Pittsburgh  his  home  about 
the  close  of  the  seventh  decade  of  the  century — George  Westing- 
house.  Gathering  about  them  a  galaxy  of  men  no  less  able  than 
themselves,  they  set  themselves  to  conquer  fortune,  and  they  suc- 
ceeded. The  industries  wdiich  they  initiated  and  represented 
were  not  alone.  There  w^ere  hundreds  of  other  men,  bright,  keen, 
and  capable,  who,  addressing  themselves  to  the  tasks  of  life  as 
they  found  them,  took  the  city  of  1865  and  in  the  next  three  dec- 
ades transformed  it  into  one  of  the  most  prosperous  cities  of  the 
world.  The  city  of  Pittsburgh  from  1865  onward  presents  to 
view  as  remarkable  an  assemblage  of  men  gifted  in  those  quali- 
ties which  make  a  community  truly  great  as  is  anywhere  to  be 
found.  No  city  in  the  land  has  possessed  a  body  of  citizens  pos- 
sessing greater  "business  talent"  than  she. 

The  growth  of  population  in  the  district  adjacent  to  the  old 
wards  of  the  city  and  the  desire  of  these  outlying  districts  to 
effect  a  union  with  the  city  led,  from  1846  onward,  to  the  erection 
of  additional  wards,  and  in  April,  1867,  to  the  admission  of  the 
additional  wards,  from  the  Tenth  to  the  Twenty-third,  inclusive, 
and  by  act  of  April  2,  1872,  the  boroughs  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Monongahela — Ormsby,  East  Birmingham,  St.  Clair,  Birming- 
ham, South  Pittsburgh,  Allentown,  Mount  Washington,  Monon- 
gahela, West  Pittsburgh,  Union,  and  Temperanceville — were 
added  to  the  city.  The  union  of  Allegheny  and  the  boroughs 
adjacent  thereto  was  agitated  at  this  time,  as  it  had  been  often 
before,  but  nothing  came  of  the  discussion.  The  addition  of 
the  new  wards  led  to  steps  to  meet  their  municipal  necessities. 

480 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

The  paving  and  lighting  of  streets,  the  erection  of  new  water- 
works and  the  development  of  lines  of  street  railways  claimed 
much  attention  at  this  time,  and  the  work  has  gone  forward  con- 
tinuously ever  since. 

The  commercial  panic  of  1873  told  heavily  upon  the  city,  as 
it  did  upon  all  other  American  communities.  The  depression 
which  occurred  at  this  time  left  its  mark  upon  Pittsburgh  for 
many  years  afterwards,  but  the  old  inflexible  courage  and  the 
indomitable  energy  of  the  people  brought  them  through  these 
times  of  distress  to  a  place  of  still  larger  power  and  greater  suc- 
cess. 

Rallying  from  the  financial  misfortunes  of  the  year  1873, 
Pittsburgh  addressed  herself,  as  did  the  entire  nation,  to  the  task 
of  advancing  her  interests.  Her  growth  from  this  time  onward 
becomes  to  the  student  simply  marvelous.  The  statistics  showing 
her  development,  as  they  are  scanned,  become  bewildering.  No 
city  on  the  American  continent  has  made  relatively  greater  prog- 
ress, and  she  has  outstripped  in  her  manufactures  and  in  the  vol- 
ume of  her  commercial  transactions  many  cities  which  are  far 
older,  and  which  at  one  time  gave  promise  of  never  allowing  her 
to  pass  them  in  the  race  for  industrial  supremacy.  We  are  speak- 
ing of  the  "Greater  Pittsburgh,"  that  aggregation  of  human 
beings  located  within  a  short  radius  of  her  city  hall,  which  trans- 
acts business  in  her  marts  and  nightly  flows  outward  to  their 
homes  nestling  on  the  thrice  seven  hills  which  stand  guard  over 
the  valleys  in  which  her  workshops  and  factories  have  their  place. 
Pittsburgh,  politically  defined  by  comparatively  narrow  boun- 
daries, has  to-day  a  population  of  only  350,000  souls,  but  Alle- 
gheny and  McKeesport,  which,  for  all  but  political  purposes,  are 
integral  parts  of  Pittsburgh,  and  the  boroughs  near  by,  separated 
by  no  visible  line  of  demarcation  from  the  city,  include  a  popula- 
tion, according  to  the  census  of  1900,  of  over  275,000;  so  that 
there  is  compacted  together,  in  what  is  properly  one  city,  a  com- 
munity of  625,000  inhabitants,  as  great  a  population  as  was  that 

3-31  481 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

of  Philadelphia  county  only  thirty-five  years  ago.  The  popula- 
tion of  Allegheny  county  in  1900  exceeded  the  population  of 
Philadelphia  county  in  1876,  "the  Centennial  year,"  by  fully 
50,000  souls.  Within  the  limits  of  Allegheny  county  as  it  was 
originally  defined  (see  p.  471),  the  census  of  which,  in  1790, 
showed  a  population  of  10,309  inhabitants,  there  were,  according 
to  the  census  of  1900,  1,306,142  inhabitants.  Within  a  radius 
of  sixty  miles  of  the  City  Hall  of  Pittsburgh  there  was  resident 
in  1900  a  population  of  approximately  1,750,000  souls.  The 
"Pittsburgh  district"  is,  with  the  exception  of  the  region  about 
New  York  and  the  region  centering  in  Philadelphia,  the  most 
populous  to-day  upon  the  North  American  continent. 

As  population  has  grown,  so  have  grown  manufactures  and 
trade.  The  banking  capital  of  Pittsburgh  was,  in  December, 
1902,  $362,000,000.  The  capital  employed  in  her  various  mercan- 
tile and  manufacturing  establishments  aggregated  a  sum  fully  four 
times  as  large  as  this  great  amount.  When  Conrad  Hawk  drove 
the  first  wheeled  vehicle  into  the  place,  in  1758,  he  little  dreamed 
that  five  generations  afterwards  the  incoming  and  outgoing  ton- 
nage of  the  spot  would  exceed  in  volume  that  of  every  other  city 
upon  the  globe.  But  such  is  the  case.  The  tonnage  of  Pitts- 
burgh, by  rail  and  river,  at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
exceeded  that  of  New  York  three  times  and  that  of  London  twice. 
The  capacity  of  the  railways  and  steamboat  lines  of  the  place  in 
recent  years  has  been  taxed  to  the  uttermost  to  keep  pace  with  the 
growing  demands,  and  often  they  have  failed.  As  many  as  fifteen 
thousand  loaded  cars  have  in  a  single  day  been  moved  in  and  out 
of  the  place.  "The  masters  of  chariots"  in  the  Pittsburgh  dis- 
trict have  herculean  tasks  set  before  them  by  the  energy  of  her 
busy  people.  The  lines  of  her  commerce  reach  out  to  the  remotest 
quarters  of  the  globe.  Machinery  built  in  Pittsburgh  shops  yokes 
the  torrent  of  Niagara  to  the  service  of  man,  drives  the  trains 
in  London  subways,  checks  the  speed  of  locomotive  engines  on 
almost  every  railway  in  the  world,  and  furnishes  light  to  thou- 

482 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

sands  of  cities  and  towns.  The  armor  made  in  her  mills  belts  the 
the  battleships  of  the  United  States  and  of  other  lands.  Bridges 
designed  and  constructed  in  her  mills  span  rivers  upon  every  con- 
tinent. She  fabricates  in  her  workshops  the  webs  of  steel  which 
bear  up  the  walls  of  brick  and  stone  which  tower  over  Broadway 
in  New  York  and  State  street  in  Chicago.  She  makes  the  plate- 
glass  through  which  the  throngs  peer  into  brilliantly  lighted  shop 
windows  in  a  hundred  cities  of  the  world.  She  makes  more  than 
half  of  all  the  steel  and  iron  consumed  annually  in  the  United 
States,  and  controls  by  her  capital  the  maufactories  in  which  the 
rest  is  made.  She  has  four  thousand  mills  and  factories,  turning 
forth  an  annual  product  worth  three  times  a  hundred  millions, 
and  paying  a  hundred  and  fifty  millions  a  year  in  wages. 

But  the  Pittsburgh  which  we  find  at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth 
century  is  more  than  a  center  of  industrial  energy  and  a  place  for 
mere  money-getting.  She  has  found  time  to  cultivate  the  gentler 
arts,  and  is  no  stranger  to  the  refinements  of  life.  Her  homes  are, 
many  of  them,  palaces,  and  the  vast  majority  of  them  replete 
with  comfort  to  a  degree  scarcely  elsewhere  known.  She  has 
escaped  in  a  large  degree  the  curse  of  crowded  tenements.  The 
lines  of  electric  railways  radiating  in  every  direction  have  made 
it  possible  for  her  workmen  to  secure  homes  of  their  own,  and 
workingmen  are  nowhere  in  the  world,  as  a  class,  better  paid, 
better  fed,  and  better  housed  than  in  the  Iron  City.  The  archi- 
tecture of  her  public  buildings  compares  favorably  with  that  of 
other  American  cities.  Her  court  house  is  the  masterpiece  of  that 
great  master,  H.  H.  Richardson.  In  Highland  Park,  most  beau- 
tiful for  situation,  is  the  Zoological  Garden,  the  gift  to  the  city 
of  the  late  Christopher  Lyman  Magee.  Through  the  splendid 
generosity  of  one  of  her  daughters,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Schenley,  a 
lineal  descendant  of  General  O'Hara,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers 
of  the  place,  Pittsburgh  has  a  noble  park,  situated  in  her  very 
heart,  and  embellished  by  the  princely  generosity  of  one  of  her 
sons,  Henry  Phipps,  Jr.,  with  a  conservatory  said  to  be  the  larg- 

483 


PENNSYLVANIA    COLONIAL    &  FEDERAL 

est  at  the  present  time  in  the  United  States.  At  the  entrance  to 
this  park  stands  the  Carnegie  Institute,  which,  when  completed, 
will  be  one  of  the  largest  and  most  important  institutions  of  its 
class  in  the  world,  the  chief  monument  of  her  most  illustrious  cit- 
izen, whom,  though  other  cities  claim  him,  she  always  calls  her 
own.  The  library,  museum,  and  art  gallery  of  the  institute  have 
achieved  a  world-wide  reputation,  and  in  the  great  hall  of  the 
institute  music  reigns  supreme.  Pittsburgh  is  an  intensely  mu- 
sical city.  Nowhere  else  in  America  is  greater  or  more  enthu- 
siastic interest  in  "the  divine  art"  shown.  Nor  has  Pittsburgh 
failed  to  cultivate  a  love  for  the  sister  arts.  In  the  homes  of  her 
men  of  wealth  are  stored  many  of  the  masterpieces  of  ancient  and 
modern  painting,  and  many  of  her  gifted  sons  and  daughters 
have  made  their  names  widely  known  by  the  efforts  of  their  facile 
brushes.  Literature  is  not  without  its  ardent  votaries  within  her 
borders,  and  while  Pittsburgh  is  not  distinctively  a  literary  center, 
the  number  of  those  of  her  sons  and  daughters  who  have  achieved 
a  measure  of  fame  in  literary  pursuits,  either  while  resident  here, 
or  elsewhere,  is  surprising  to  the  student.  She  abounds  in  lovers 
of  good  books.  One  of  the  choicest  collections  of  "Americana" 
in  the  new  world  is  lodged  under  the  roof  of  one  of  her  stately 
mansions,  and  represents  a  lifetime  of  research  expended  by  its 
maker.'  In  the  domain  of  pure  science  she  has  not  been  behind 
other  cities  of  the  world  in  adding  her  contributions  to  the  sum 
of  human  knowledge.  Of  course,  in  a  city  in  which  the  indus- 
trial arts  hold  so  prominent  a  place,  it  is  natural  that  there  should 
be  found  a  multitude  of  men  who,  as  chemists  and  engineers,  are 
pre-eminently  equipped  with  ability  and  knowledge  to  deal  with 
the  peculiar  problems  which  confront  them.  The  contributions 
made  by  these  men  to  applied  science  have  been  vast  and 
varied,  but  Pittsburgh  has  ever  had  a  few  who  have  been  the 

'The  late  Wm.  M.  Darlington,  vice-presi- 
dent of  the   Historical   Society  Of  Pennsyl- 


PITTSBURGH  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS 

votaries  of  knowledge  for  its  own  sake.  She  is  proud  of  the 
achievements  of  her  Langley  and  her  Keeler.  She  is  proud  of 
the  researdies  in  the  domain  of  paleontology  and  the  natural  sci- 
ences made  by  the  staff  of  learned  men  gathered  in  the  museum 
of  the  institute,  for  the  prosecution  of  whose  labors  provision  has 
been  made  in  recent  years  by  the  generous  founder. 

Pittsburgh  has  a  generous  heart.  The  roll  call  of  her  philan- 
thropists is  long.  The  names  of  Rev.  Charles  Avery,  of  William 
and  Jane  Holmes,  John  H.  Schoenberger,  Henry  Lloyd,  Wil- 
liam Thaw,  William  Frew,  Joseph  Dilworth,  James  D.  Bernd, 
Felix  R.  Brunot  and  Chistopher  Lyman  Magee,  not  to  speak  of 
the  living  whose  charity  is  an  incessant  stream,  will  be  held  in 
everlasting  remembrance  by  the  community  to  the  service  of 
which  they  consecrated  much  of  their  wealth. 

The  Pittsburgh  of  the  dawning  twentieth  century,  issuing 
from  the  Pittsburgh  of  the  civil  war,  has  not,  however,  reached 
her  place  of  vantage  without  at  times  passing  through  the  furnace 
of  trial.  She  remembers  with  a  shudder  the  terrible  days  of 
1877,  when  her  skies  were  red  with  fires  kindled  by  incendiary 
hands  and  blood  ran  in  her  streets.  The  awful  lessons  of  the 
railway  riots  and  the  Homestead  strike  at  a  later  date  have  borne 
fruit  making  for  righteousness  and  sobriety  among  her  people. 
She  has  passed  through  trials  by  flood  and  by  fire.  She  has  again 
and  again  been  made  to  feel  the  force  of  recurring  financial 
depressions.  She  has  found  herself  the  victim  of  political  treach- 
ery and  deceit,  and  has  been  made  to  bear  heavy  burdens  because 
of  the  neglects  of  those  whom  she  has  trusted,  but  who,  for  selfish 
personal  ends  have  again  and  again  betrayed  her.  Her  municipal 
policies  have  not  always  been  above  reproach,  and  she  has  at 
times,  largely  through  her  own  fault,  lacked  wise,  intelligent,  and 
unselfish  municipal  leadership.  She  has  at  times,  to  her  sorrow, 
exalted  incompetent  men  to  places  of  power,  and  has  suffered  in 
consequence.  In  this  respect  she  has,  perhaps,  not  been  different 
from  other  American  cities. 

485 


PENNSYLVANIA   COLONIAL   &  FEDERAL 

But  through  trial  and  storm  and  sorrowful  mistakes  Pitts- 
burgh has  made  her  way  until  to-day  she  stands  with  a  pillar  of 
cloud  over  her  in  the  daytime  and  a  pillar  of  fire  at  night,  like 
Israel  of  old,  with  ardent  brow,  and  eyes  kindling  with  hope, 
looking  into  a  future  the  glory  and  greatness  of  which  she  be- 
lieves will  far  exceed  the  best  that  the  historian  has  to  tell  of  her 
past. 


486 


Index 


Adams,    David,    268 

Adjutant-General,    report   of,    81 

Agricultural  implements,  scarcity  of,  367 
products,   increase   of,  375 
productiveness,   361,   362 
reading  matter,  368 
statistics,  376,  378 

Agrici:lture,  361-369 

conditions  of,  in   1799,  371,  372 
early  conditions  of,   366,   367 
early  progress  of,  366,  367 
early    transportation    nf   products   of, 

373 
effects  of  wars  upon,  370 
improvements  in  methods  of,  368,  369 
in  its  geological  relations,  262,  264 
in  relation  to  climate,  365 
in  relation  to  topography,  364 
in  the  western  parts,   370,  371 
influence  of  the  Civil  War  upon,  37s, 

376 
influence  of  the  Revolution  upon,  372 
influence   of  the   War   of   1812   upon, 

374 
movement  of,  westward,  372,  373 
neglect  of  fertilization  in,  368 
organizations  to  promote,  373,  374 
report  concerning,   371 
society   for   the   improvement   of,   367 

Alden,  John,  244 

Mason    F.,   244 

Alleghany  coal  field,   the,   314 

Allegheny  and  Monongahela  rivers,    fort  at 
junction   of  the,   407 

and  Monongahela  rivers,  levees  along 

the,  434 
county    contribution    of    men    to    the 
army,  472 


Allegheny  county  court  house,  site  of  the,  449 
county,   formation  of,  427 
county,    gas    and    water    supply    for, 

462 
county,   heavy   vote   of,    for    Lincoln. 

369 
county  iron  industries,  1898-1901,  269 
county,  iron  works  in,  268 
county,    labor   riots   In,    197 
county,   population   of,   482 
county,    subdivision   of,   427 
furnace,  248,   271 
incorporation  of,  as  a  city,  460 
manufacturing  in,   358,  359 
oil   district,  the,   340,  342 
plan  of  the  town  of,  454 
population  of,   in   1835,  458 

Allen    Rifles,   the,  86 

William,    228,    236 

Alliance    iron    works,    251,   429 

Allison,  James,  445 

Allman,  Jerome  T.,  nomination  of,  200 

American  Cement  Company,  355 

Anderson  Cavalry  called  into  service,  97 

Anniversary      of     American      independence 
celebration  of  the,  149 

Anshutz,  George,  262,  430 

Anschutz's  furnace,  265 

Anthracite   coal,   280-306 

discovery  of,  286,  287 

discovery  of,  at  Plymouth,  287 

early   market   for,   288,  289 

early  Philadelphia  market  for,  291 

early  shipments  of,   291 

early  transportation   of,   289-291 

early    use    of,    in    iron    manufacture, 

292 
experiments  in  burning,  287,  288 


487 


INDEX 


Anthracite  coal  field,  strike  in  the,  216,  217 
fields,  acres  of,   281    note,  283 
fields,   geographical    divisions   of,   283 
first  shipment  of,  287,  288 
in  Wyoming  valley,  286,  287 
Mehoopany  field  of,  282 
mines,   men  employed   in,    305 
mining,    280 

region,   divisions  of  the,   281,  282 
Pottsville  field  of,  281 
production  of,  by  counties,  283-285 
production,    statistics    of,    305-306 
shipments  of,  by   rail,   293,   294 
supply,  duration  of  the,  285 
Upper  Lehigh  field  of,  282 
Western  Middle  field  of,  282 
Wyoming   and    Lackawanna   field    of, 
282 
Anthracite    inspection    districts,   284 
Apportionment,    a    new,    provided    for,    183, 

184 
Arbitration  commission,   appointment  of  an, 

219 
Arbor  day,  establishment  of,   179 
Architecture,  character  of  Pittsburg,  483 
Armory  at  Carlisle,  240 
Armsby,   H.   P.,  380 
Armstrong,   Col.   John,   412 

county,  furnace  in,  261 
Thomas  A.,  nomination  of,   174 
Army  of   the    Potomac,    location   of   the,    at 
Frederick,    109;    number   constituting   the, 
109 
Art    treasures,    examples    of,    in    Pittsburg 

homes,   484 
Arts,    cultivation    of    the    gentler,    in    Pitts- 
burg, 483 
Ashman,  George,  245 

Assembly,  act  of,  organizing  the  militia,   78 
appropriations    by,    under    Gov.    Por- 
ter,  2 
convened  by   the  governor,    127 
resolution  of  government   support   by 

the,  83 
resolutions  of,  approving  Maj.  Ander- 
son's action,  80 
resolutions    of,    in    relation    to    seces- 
sion,  77,   78 
Assemblymen,  salary  of,  fixed,  178,  179 
Atherton,  George  W.,  185,  380 
Atlas    Portland   cement    company,   the,    355, 
356 


Australian    ballot   system,    establishment    of 

the,  19s 
Avery,    Rev.   Charles,  485 

Baer,  Hon.  George  F.,  219 

Bakewell,   William,    453 

Baldwin,   Judge  Henry,   261,   466;   views   of 

on   railroads,   460 
Ballot    reform    system,    establishment    of   a, 

195 
Bank  charters,  continued  granting  of,  32 
notes,  authorized   issues  of,  20 
notes,  discredit  of,  20 
of  Pittsburg,  the,  449 
of  the  United   States,   branch  of  the, 
449 
Banking  bill,  passage  of  a,  20 
capital,  amount  of,    17 
law,  passage  of  a,   163 
system,    opposition   to   a    free,    31,    32 
troubles,  proposed  remedies  for,   17 
unwarranted  increase  of,  18 
Banks    and    the    State,    separation    of    the, 
urged,  12,  13 

forfeiture  of  charters  of,   threatened, 

19 
loose  management  of,   17,  18 
negotiation  of  State  loans  by,  18 
number  of  the  national,   162 
Porter's  opposition  to  the,   22 
run  on   the,    156 

suspension  of  specie  payment  by  the, 
17 
Bar  iron,  early  manufacture  of,  241 
Bardsley,  John,   defalcation   of,   194,   195 
Barker,    Abner,    446 

Barnes,   J.    Mahlon,   nomination   of,    213 
Barnsdale,   Meade   &   Rouse,   332 
Barr,   Rev.   Samuel,   425 
Barree  forge,  Huntingdon  county,  247 
Basse,  Detmar,   260 
Bassenheim    furnace,    260 
Bates  union,   the,  302 

Battle  of  Gettysburg,  103,  104;  beginning 
of,  no;  close  of,  118;  description  of  the. 
113-118;  end  of  the  second  day  of,  116; 
losses  in  the,  118;  Pickett's  charge  in  the, 
117,  118;  renewal  of  the,  116;  significance 
of  the,  1 19 
Bayard,  Col.   Stephen,   421 

George  A.,  457 
Bayardstown,    laying   out   of,    457 


INDEX 


Beale,  Thomas,  245 

Bean,    Theouore    W.,    185 

]5ear  Creek  furnace,  261 

I'eatty,     Rev.     Charles,     318;     thanksgiving 

sermon  by,  413 
Beaver  county,  blast  furnace  in,  259 
Falls,   iron   industry   at,   260 
Gov.  James  Addams,  appointment  of, 
as    judge,     194;    election    of,    182; 
election    of,    as    judge,    202;    nomi- 
nation   of,     174,     182;     sketch     of, 
183;    views    of,    on    the    canal    be- 
tween    Lake     Erie    and    the     Ohio 
river,      191,      192;     views     of,     on 
manual  training,  186 
oil  district,  the,  341 
Beaver's  and  Pattison's  administrations,  182- 

200 
Bedford,  Dr.  Nathaniel,  456 
furnace,   245,    246 
pike,   the   old,   442 
Benner,    Gen.    Philip,    247 
Berkshire    furnace,   230 
Bernd,  James   D.,   485 

Berthoud  &  Co.,  James,  shipbuilders,  438 
Bessemer   steel,   manufacture  of,    274 
Bi-centennial   association,   formation   of   the, 

173 
Biddle,   Nicholas,   293 

Bigler,   Gov.    William,   causes  of  defeat   of, 
50;    nomination    and    election    of,    44;    re- 
nomination   of,   49;    sketch    of,    45;    views 
of,   on  public  works  debt,  46,  47 
Bigler's,   Pollock's  and   Packer's  administra- 
tions,  45-67 
Bingham,   William,   453 
Bird,    Mark,   239 

William,   230 
Birmingham,    the   borough   of,    456 
Birney,    General,    113 
Bissell,   George   H.,   330 
Bituminous    coal,    306-327 

apparent   supply  of,   326,  327 
description   of  beds  of,    307,   308 
field,  the,   315,  316 
first  use  of,  in  iron  making,  323 
fluctuation  in   price   of,   325,   326 
geological    relations    of,    306-310 
increase  in  demand  for,  321 
increase  in  production  of,   325 
mining   districts   of,    324,    325 
near    Richmond,    Va.,    317 


Bituminous  coal,  origin  of,  307 

source   of  supply  of,   306 

the  first   mined,    318 

the  first  shipped  from   Pittsburg,  321, 

322 
the  lowest  bed  of,  307 
the   Pittsburg,   region,  309 
Black,   Chauncey  F.,  nomination  of,    182 

Rev.   John,    335,   446,   447 
lilair  county,    furnace   in,   248 
Blanchard,  John,   69 
lilanket  liill,  attack  upon,   419 
Blast  furnace,  the  first  west  of  the   Susque- 
hanna,  239 
Blister  steel,  235 

Blockhouse,  the  old  Pittsburg,  416 
Blossburg   coal   basin,    the,   313 

coal  field,  the,  310 
Boat  building,  increase  of,  in  Pittsburg,  430, 

438 
Booth,  J.   Wilkes,   State  reward  for  capture 

of,   128 
Boroughs  on  the  south  side   added  to  Pitts- 
burg,  480 
Boundaries    of    Pittsburg,    enlargement    of 

the,  480,  481 
Bounties  for  volunteers,  payment  of,  92,  93 
Bouquet,    Colonel,    relief    of    Fort    Pitt    by, 

414 
Bowman,  Jacob,  253 
Brackenridge,  Hugh  Henry,  432;  sketch  of, 

4^2,   425 
Braddock,  Major-Gen.  Edward,  411 
Braddock's  defeat,  411 
Bradford,  Charles  S.,  433 
oil  district,  340 

oil  district,  production  of  the,  341 
Branson,  William,  233,  236 
Breaditig.    Nathaniel,    251 
Brewer,    Watson   &   Co.,    332 
Bridges,  building  of  early,  at  Pittsburg,  449 
Broad  Top  coal  region,  the,  314 
Brockenborough,  John  B.,  74 
Brohead,  Col.   Daniel,   420 
Brooks,  Major-Gen.  William  T.  H.,  102 
Brown,  John,  raid  of,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  61 
Bruce,   Rev.  Dr.   Robert,   446,   447 
Brunot,    Felix    R.,    353,    485 
Buchanan,  Archie,  332 

James,  friendship  of  Gov.  Packer  for, 
55 
Buckalew,  Cliarles  R.,  nomination  of,  146 


INDEX 


Buckhout,  Prof.  William  A.,  146 
Buflfington,  Joseph,  appointment  of,  219 
Bulls-head   tavern,   the,  289 
Burd,    Col.    James,   318 
Bureau  of  internal  affairs,   324 

of  labor   statistics,  the,   tqt 
Burke,  William,  318 
Burrell,  Thomas,   259 

Business  and   travel,  wonderful   impetus  to, 
454 

failures,  52 

paralyzation  of,   17 

revival   of,  450 
Butler  county,  furnaces  in,  261 

county,  gas  in,   348 

county   oil   district,   tlie,   341 

Gen.    Richard,    421,    431 

Caledonia,   steel    making   at,   250 

Cambria  county  as  an  iron  center,  258 
county,  early  forge   in,   257 

Camp    Curtin,   activity   at,    87;    location    of, 
87,  88 

Campbell,  Alexander,   448 
Col.    John,   416 

Canal    boat,    the    first    to    cross   the    moun- 
tains,  450,   453 

commissioners,  action  of  the,  S 
commissioners,  views  of  the,  5,  6 
Lake   Erie   and  Ohio   River,  commis- 
sion to  survey  the,  191,  192 

Canals,     extension     of,     into     the     western 
region,   453 

legislative  investigation  of  the,  5 

management  of  the,  46 

sale  of  the,    59 

sale  of  the,    proposed,    46 

Cannon,  early  manufacture  of,  220 
largest  in  the  world,  472 

Capitol  building,  burning  of  the,  205,  206 
description  of  the   new,  206 

Carlisle,   Confederate  troops  at,   105 

Carnegie,  Andrew,  467,  480 
Institute,  the,   484 

Carrick  furnace   and   forge,  243 

Cartoons,  law  to  suppress  newspaper,  223 

Cassatt,  A.  J.,  449 

Cassidy,  Lewis  C,   177 

Castle  Fin  forge,  242,  243 

Catawissa    furnace,    244 

Catholic  churches,  burning  of,  27 


Cement,    349-361 

antiquity  of,   350 

center  of  the,  industry,   360,  361 

component  parts  of  natural,  356 

component  parts  of  Portland,  357 

dry  kiln   for  making,   358,   359 

economy  of  the  dry  process  for  mak- 
ing, 359 

experiments  to   produce,  in   Pennsyl- 
vania, 350 

industry,  the,   354 

objections  to  American  Portland,  360 

Portland,   353 

product  of  the  Lehigh  district,  361 

selection    of    raw    material    for,    357, 
358 

Smeaton's  experiments  with,  353 

works    in    America,    350 

the  wet  process  of  making,  358 

works,  list  of,  361 
Centennial,  appropriation   for   the,   158 

commission,  meeting  of  the,  155 

construction  of  buildings  for  the,  156 

date  of  opening  of  the,   155 

exhibition,  the,   155 

raising  funds  for  the,   156 

results  of  the,  156 
Centre  county,  furnace  in,  247 
Cereal  crops,  early  production  of,  370 
Cereals,  waste  of,  370 
Chambers,  Benjamin,  243 

Col.  James,  243 

George,    243 

William,    243 
t'liambersburg,  capture  of  stores  at,  123 

Confederate  encampment  near,   105 

description  of  the  occupation  of,   106- 
108 

raid,  the,  97 

raid,    measures    of    defence    against 
the,  97,  98 

raid   on,    95 
Chance,  Dr.  H.  M.,  326 
Charcoal  era,  the,  270 

industry,  the,  273 
Charities,  work  of  the  Board  of,   140-143 
Chatham,  laying  out  of,   455 
Church    of    St.    Philip    de   Neri,   arms  taken 

to  the,  27 
Churches  of  Pittsburg  in   1800,  435 
Cities,   influence  of  petroleum  on,  335 
City  Bank  of  Pittsburg,  the,  449 


490 


INDEX 


Civil  War,  beginning  of  the,  79 
period,  end   of  the,    132 
proclamation  of,  81 
the  year   1864  in  the,   121 
Clarion  county,   turnace   in,  261 
Clark,    v..    E.,   219 
Clearfield  county,  furnace  in,  244 
Climate,   365 

Clinton  cement  works,  the,  361 
county,  furnace  in,  244 
furnace,   265 
Clymer,  lieister,  nomination  of,   132 
Coal    (see  Anthracite  and  Bituminous) 

distillation   of  oil    from,   229,   230 
fields,   percentage  of,   owned  by   rail- 
roads, 294 
miners,   organization   of  the,   145 
miners,  qualifications  of,  304,  305 
miners,  strikes  of,   144,    145,  304,  305 
trade,    monopoly    of    the,    threatened, 

196,   197 
miners  unions,  302,  303 
mines,    ownership    of,     by    railroads, 

29s,  296 
mining,  legislation  to  improve,  324 
semi-bituminous,  309 
source   of   supply   of  bituminous,   306 
supply,  the  early,  428 
use   of  raw   bituminous,   in    furnaces, 

272,  273 
world's  product  of,  284 
Coke,    importance    of    the    manufacture    of, 
478 

use  of,  in  blast  furnaces,  271 
Colebrookdale  furnace,  227,  228 
Coleman,  G.  Dawson,  140,  238 
Robert,   236 
Robert  W.,  238 
Coleraine  forges,  248 
Colesberry,  Alexander   P.,    173 
College    and    University    Council,    organiza- 
tion of   the,   211 

degrees,  abuses  in   granting,   211 
Colt,  Rev.  Samuel  F.,  186 
Columbia  county,   furnace   in,  244 
Colwell,  Stephen,  455 
Commerce,  early  in  Pittsburg,  438,   441 
Commissioner  of  forestry,  purchase  of  land 

by,   396 
Committee    of    ways    and   means,   action   of 
the,   23,   24 


Committee  on  industrial  education,  appoint- 
ment of,  i8s 

on  sale  of  public  works,  48 
Compulsory    education,    a<lvantagc's    of,    11 1 
Cone   forge,    248 

Conestoga    lock    and    dam    navigation    com- 
pany, 264 

wagons  and  mail  coaches,  442 
Confederate    army,     operations    of    the,     in 
Pennsylvania,    106 

cavalry,    invasion   by,    97 
invaders,     expulsion     of,      from     the 
btate,  124 
Congressional    districts,    formation    of,    183 
Connellsville,  coal   at,   317 
Connolly,    Dr.    John,    arrest    of,    417,    418; 

proclamation   by,  417 
Constitution    of    1873,    review    of    the,    152- 
154 

prohibition    amendment    to     the.    de 

feated,   185 
vote  for  a  new,    152 
Constitutional    amendments,   review    of,    150 
centennial,   celebration   of   the,    187 
centennial     commission,     organization 

of  the,  187 
convention,  delegates  to  the,   152 
convention    of    1873,     150-152 
convention,  organization  of  the,  152 
convention,  vote  in  favor  of  a,  152 
Contractors,  imposition   by,    16 
new  class  of  claims  of,  i6 
objectionable  methods  of,   15 
Cooke,  Jay,  &   Company,  failure  of,    156 
Coons,  John,   291 
Cooper,  Hewitt  &  Co.,  295 
Coplay  cement  company,   355 
Cornwall  furnace,  237 

iron  mines,  table  showing  product  of, 

239 
ore  hills,  sale  of  the,  237 
Cornwallis,  surrender  of,  421 
Corporation,  restrictions   in  spread  of,  21 
Cotton  States  and   International   Exposition, 

the,  205 
Couch,    Major-Gen.    D.   M.,   102 
Counties  formed   from  Allegheny,  427 
Coventry  forge,   227 
Cowan,   Christopher,  267 
Craig,  Major  Isaac,  421,  422,  456 
Crawford   county,   furnace   in,   262 
Col.  William,  421 


491 


INDEX 


Crescent  cement  company,  the,   355 
Croghan,  George,  403,  418 
Crosby,  John,  233 
Cromwell,    Thomas,    245 
Crooker,   Ralph,   254 
Cumberland  furnace,  243 
Currency,   irregularity  in   the,  20 
Curtin,  Gov.,  and  President   Lincoln,  73 

call   for  troops  by,    123 

close  of  administration  of,  129-132 

death  of,   199,  200 

description  of  invasion  by,   123 

development  of  opposition  to,  82 

efforts  of,   for  peace,   74 

election  of,  62 

extracts  from  the  first  message  of,  71 

last  message  of,  130 

message  of,   in    1866,    128,    129 

military  message   from,  85,  86 

military  proclamation  by,  85,    102 

nomination  of,  62 

proclamation  of,  on  the  fall  of  Rich- 
mond,  127 

review   of   the    military    situation   by, 
121,  122 

sketch   of,   68,   69 

title  of  war  governor  given  to,  73 

war  message  to,  83 

war  proclamation  by,  81,  92 
Curtin's  administration,  68-131 

Darragh,  John,  446 
Davis,   Hugh,  455 
Davison,   John,   405 
Debt,  reduction  of  the  State,  136 
Debtors,   harsh    situation   of,   28,    29 
Delamater,    George   W.,   nomination  of,    194 
Democratic  party,   split   in   the,   62 
Denny,    Major   Kbenezer,   446 
Department  of  agriculture,  establishment  of 
the,  202,  205;  work  of  the,  202,  205 

of  banking,   creation  of  a,    163 

of   forestry,   397 

of  public  instruction,  proposed  estab- 
lishment of  a,  60 

of  the  Monongahela,   loi,   102 

of  the  Susquehanna,  loi,  102 
De  Smedt,  E.  J.,  355 
De  Witt   Clinton,   the,  293,  294 
Dicks,  Peter,  233 
Dill,  Andrew  H.,  J65 
Dillon,   Moses,  251 


Dilworth,  Joseph,  485 

Dinwiddie,   Governor,   404,    405 

Discrimination  in   freight  rates,  345,  346 

Distilleries,   early,   370 

Divorce,  law  relating  to,  34,  35 

Dix,  Miss  Dorothy   L.,  40 

Dodd,  Thaddeus,  444 

Douglas,    Stephen   A.,   61 

Dowlais  works,  the,  268 

Downer,  Samuel,  229 

Dunbar,  Col.   Thomas,   411 

furnace,   251 
Dunmore,   Governor,   relations   of,    with    the 

Penns,   417 
Durham  furnace,  228 

Earl  of  Dunmore,  Connolly  the  tool  of  the, 

417 
Eckert,  Jonn  W.,   355 
Ecuyer,    Capt.    Simon,   414 
Edge,  Thomas  J.,  392 

Education,  awakening  in  the  cause  of,  445, 
446 

progress  of,  53,  54 

promotion  of,  under  Gov.  Packer,  S9. 
60 
l'2ducational   progress  under   Hastings's   ad- 
ministration,  211,  212 
Ege,  George,  233 
Eliza    furnaces,    265 
l-^lizabeth  furnace,  236 

Elverson,   Col.   James,  appointment   of,  219 
English   government,   aid   from  the,    for  de- 
fence, 411 

expedition  against  the  French,  413 
Erie  charcoal   furnace,  262 
Esther  furnace,  244 
Etna  iron  works,  the,  276 
Evans,  George,  446 

Stephen,  234 
Everhart,    Hon.   James   B.,    165 
Experimental  farm,  the,   381 
Export  of  oil,   340 

Factory  inspector,  office  of,  established,  163 
inspectors,    increase     in    number     of, 
205 
Fahnestock,  Samuel,  248 
Fairchance   furnace,  251,  271 
Fairfield    furnace,    251 
Fare,  Thomas,  226 
Farm   products,  increase  of,  374,  37s 


492 


INDEX 


Fanners'   and    Mechanics"    Bank,   tlic,   449 
institutes,    organization   of,    202 
high  schools,  gifts  to  the,   54 
School  of  Pennsylvania,  the,  380 

Fayette  county  as  an   iron  center,   252,   253 
forges  and  furnaces   in,  252 
formation  of,  427 
iron   making   in,  250 
the  first  furnace  in,  429 
the  first  rolling  mill  in,  253 

Federal    constitution,    anniversary    of   adop- 
tion of,    187 

Fell,  Judge  Jesse,  287 

Fertilization,   increase   of,   374 

F'etterolf,  A.  H.,   185 

F'inances,  excellent  condition  of  the,   168 
under  Gov.   Porter,  2 

F'inancial    conditions,    improvement    in,    31, 
32 

crash,  22 

crisis,   17;   of   1857,    52,   53;   of    1873, 

effects  of  the,   481 
depression,   recovery   from,    168;   suc- 
ceeding the  Civil  War,   156 
difficulties    under    Gov.     Stone,     214, 

21S 
relief   through    the   national    banking 

system,  53 
situation  under   Gov.   Packer,   57,    58 

Firmstone,   William,  271 

First  iron  works  in  the  State,   225,  226 

Flaxseed,  early  production  of,   366 

Floating  debt  of  the  State,  a  large,  212 

Flood,  a  disastrous,   188 

relief     commission,     ap]X)intment     of 
the,    ib8 

Flour,  early  production  of.  374 

Floyd,  Secretary,  attempt  of,  to  remove  gov- 
ernment stores  from  Pittsburg,  471 

Forbes,   Brig.-Gen.   John,  402 

Forest  conditions  in  early  years,  381,  382 
fires,  suppression  of,  396 
land  owned  by  the   State,   384 
restoration,  beginning  of,  386,  387 
trees  useful  in  tanning,  388 

F'orestry  commission,  the,  395;   appointment 
of  the,   186;  report  of  the,  199 

commissioners,  appointment  of,  199 
communal,   390 
department  of,  397 
educational   aspects  of,   387 
examination  of  conditions  of,   199 


Forstery,  financial  returns  from,  384,  38s 

importance  of,  385,  398 

individual   or   corporate,   387,   389 

inquiry  into  the  conditions  of,  186, 
187 

in  Schuylkill  and  Centre  counties, 
389.    390 

legislation    in    favor  of,   391-393 

limitations  of,  388 

movement  as  a  reformation,  391 

newspaper  influence  u[X)n,  394 

permanent  committee  on,  395,  396 

promotion  of  the  interests  of,   199 

scnool  of,  384 

valuable  paper  on,  382,  383 

work  in,   186,  187 
Forests   and    forestry,   381-398 

character   of   the,    381,   382 

influences  of,  382,   384 

influences  ot,  on  water  supply,  390 

management  of   the   public,   384 

need  of  roads  through,  390,  391 

quick-growing,    387,    388 

rapid   removal   of,    382 
I'orge  at  Plumsock,  252 

at  blocum's  Hollow,  244 

in   Byberry  township,  235 

in  J^uzerne  county,  244 

on   Chester    creek,    230 

on    Codorus   creek,    239 

on   Crum  creek,   233 

on  French  creek,  227 

on  Hay  creek,  230 

on  Lackawanna  river,  244 
l''orges,  early,  225-254 

in   York   county,   242 

on    Conestoga    creek,    233 
Forks  of  the  Ohio,   strategic  importance   of 

the,  406 
I'ort  at   Pittsburg,  building  of  a,  414 

Dtinmore,  court  at,  417;  naming  of, 
417 

Duquesne,  building  of,  407;  destruc- 
tion of,  412 

Lafayette,  building  of,  431 

le   Jjoeuf,  building  of,  404 

Mcintosh,   site  of,  428 

Pitt,  early  map  of,  428;  sale  of,  416; 
siege  of,  414;  strengthening  of,  415, 
416 

Sumter,  firing  upon,  81 

the  second  built  at  Pittsburg,  414 


493 


INDEX 


Foster,   Henry  D.,  nomination  of,  62 
Stephen  C,  457 
William  B.,   456 

Forward,  Hon.  Walter,  446 

Franklin   county,   furnaces  in,  343 
oil  district,  the,  34J 

Frazier,  John,   406,  407 

Free    banking    system,    establishment    of   a, 
59;    recommendation   of,   52,    53 

Freedom   forge,   244,   245 

Freemen,   large   body  of,   organized    for   de- 
fence,  96 

Freight   discrimmination,   prohibition    of,   by 
the  constitution,   171,   172 

l'"reight  rates,   discrimination  in,   171 

French  claims  to  western  Pennsylvania,  402, 

403 

expedition   against   the,    412,    413 

flight  of  the,  413 

government  in  Canada,  change  in  the, 
404 
Frew,   William,    467,   485 
I'ugitive   slave   cases   in   court,   44 

slave    law,    adoption    of    the,    42 

slave   laws,    attitude   of   Pennsylvania 
towards  United  States,  65,  66 

slaves,    attempt  to    capture,   43 
Fulton,  Henry,  243 

Livingston   and    Roosevelt,    steamboat 
builders,  402 
I'urnace  and   forge  on  Codorus  creek,  240 

at   IJoiling  Springs,   240 

on  Christian  creek,  229 

on    Durham   creek,   228 
Furnaces,    details    of   early    construction   of, 
241 

fuel   in  early   use   in,    241 

amount  of  product  of,   241 

and   forges,   number   of,   in    1789,   242 

use    ot    coal    in,    292 

using  coke,  272 

Ciallatin,  Albert,  432 
(larmley,  John,  265 
(ias  horizons,   347 

springs,    existence   of,    346 

well   at   East   Sandy,   348 

wells  at  Gas  City,  348 

wells,  explosions  in,   347,  348 

wells,   the  early,  346 
Gates  crusher,  the,  359 


Geary,   Gov.   John  W.,   256 

administration  of,  132-147 

chosen  governor  of  Kansas,  133 

death   of,    147 

extract    from    the    first    message    of, 
134 

extract  from  the  last  message  of,  137, 
138 

message    of,    on    an    important    veto, 
14s,   146 

message     of,     relating     to     soldiers' 
orphan  schools,  140 

military  career  of,   133 

nomination  and  election  of,   132 

re-election  of,    133 

retirement  of,  146,  147 

sketch  of,  133,  134 

use  of  veto  power  by,  145 

views    of,    on    constitutional    defects, 
151,   152 

views  of,  on   education,   140 
Geological    survey,    beginning    of    work    by 
the,    162 

survey,  provisions  for  a,  162 
Geology   in   its   relation    to   agriculture,    364 
Getysburg,   battle  of,    103,   104 

battlefield,  monuments  for  the,  187 

railroad,  cost  of  the,  6;   investigation 
relating  to  the,  6 
Gibson,  John,   251,  252 
(iill,  John  D.,  nomination  of,   194 
Gilmore,  John,   446 
Gist,    Christopher,    403,    405 
Glass  manufacture,  beginning  of,  434 
Gorsuch,  Edward,  43 
Governor,  election  of,  in    1894,  200 
Governorship  campaign,  an  exciting 
Grace,  Robert,  229 
Graff,   H.   and   P.,  453 
Grant,   General,  renomination  of,    146 
Gray,   George,  219 

(ireat   Allegheny  coal    field,   309,   310 
Greeley,   Horace,   nomination  of,    146 
Greenback-Labor   party,   the,    174 
Greene   county,   furnace  in,  258 

county  oil  district,  the,  342 
Griffiths,   William,  285,   295 
(irubb,  Curtis,   237 

Peter,  237 
Grundy,  Thomas  H.,   nomination  of,  200 

Haldeman,  Jacob  M.,  243 


494 


INDEX 


Haldeman,  Richard,  jgi 
Hale,  Gen.   Reuben   C,  8.; 
Halkett,   Sir   Peter,   411 
Hall,  John,   235 
Hamilton,   James,   255 
Hancock,  Gen.   Winfield  S.,   109 
Hannastown,  attack  upon,  420 
Hanway,  Castner,  43,  44 
Hard  times,   recovery   from,    168 
Harper,  Samuel,  258 
Harris,    Joseph,    285 
Harrisburg,  fortifications  at,    103 

great  body  of  volunteers  at,  96,  97 

military  forces  at,   103 
Harrison,  Mrs.  Charles  O.,  219 

George   L.,    140,    172 
Hartranft,  Gov.  John  F.,  election  of,   146 

military  career  of,    148-150 

monument  to,   165 

nomination    of,    146 

sketch  of,   148-150 

views  of,  on  education,   163 

views   of,    on   good   government,    154, 
155 

views  of,  on  labor  troubles,    161,    162 
Hartranft's  administration,   148-165 
Hastings,    Gov.   Daniel   H.,  death   of,   213 

election   of,   200 

extract    from    inaugural    address    of, 
202,  205 

nomination   of,   200 

sketch  of  the   life  of,  201,   202 

views  of,   on   education,   211,   212 
Hastings's  and  Stone's  administrations,  201- 

221 
Hawk,  Conrad,   441 

Hawley,   Charles    I.,   nomination  of,   200 
Hayden,  Joan,   250 
Hays,  William  B.,  268 
Hazleliurst,   Isaac,   nomination  of,   200 
Hazleton,    labor   troubles    in,    209 
Hermitage  furnace,  255 
Herron,   Rev.    Francis,  444,   446 
Higbee,    Dr.     E.     E.,    death    of,     181,     193; 

sketch   of  life   of,    193,    194 
High    schools,    advocacy    of,    by    Governor 

Hastings,   212;  establishment  of,   41 
Highways,   department  of  State,  221 
Hill,  Thomas,  journey  of,  371,  372 
Himrod   &  Vincent,   323 
Holliday,  John,  257 
Holly   furnace,  243 


Holmes,    William   and   Jane,    485 

Homestead,    laljor    riots   at,     197,    198 

Hope   furnace,  245 

Hopewell    furnace,    230 

Hopkins,  John  Jiienry,  255 

Hough,   F.   B.,   forestry  reports  of,   392 

Houston,    Robert  J.,   nomination  of,    182 

Howard,  Gen.  Oliver  O.,   109 

Howe,  Thomas  M.,  447 

Hoyt,  Gov.   Henry  M.,  election   of,   165 
inaugural   address  of,   167 
military  career  of,   166,   167 
nomination  of,   167 
political  review  by,    174,   175 
sketch   01,    166,    167 
views  of,  on  finance,  167,  168 

Iluber,   Henry,  236 

Humphries,   General,    113 

Huntingdon    county,    furnace   and    forge    in, 
245,  246 

county,   iron   industry  in,   248 

Hussey,  Dr.  Curtis  G.,  274,  467 

Hutchins,   Nicholas,  43 

Capt.   Thomas,   318 

Iniprisonment   for  del)t,  aliolitinn   of,   27 
Indiana  county,  iron   industry   in,   257 
Indians     at     Sandusky,     expedition     against 
the,   420,   421 

deiiredations  of   the,  on   the   frontier, 

431 
peace  treaty  with  the,  419 
ravages  of  the,  412 
slaughter  of  peaceful,  420 
Industrial    development,    great    progress    of, 
466 

development,  rapid,   134,   135 
growth,  a   marvelous   record   of,    481, 

483 
education  commission,   the,    185,    1S6; 

report  of,   186 
education,    measures    for    the    promo- 
tion  of,   185,    186 
statistics,   143 
Industries,  interest  shown  in  distant,  479 
Insane   poor,  asylum   for  the,   40;   neglected 

condition  of  the,  40 
Internal   communication,  ])lans  for   improve- 
ment of,   441,   442 

improvements,    amount    necessary    to 

continue,  13 
Governor  Porter's  views  on,  2,  3 


495 


INDEX 


Internal     communication.     Ritner's     recom- 
mendation on,  2 

statistics    of,    78 
Invasion,  measures  to  repel,  97,  98 
Iron  and  steel,  225 

articles  made  early  in  Pittsburg,   266 

castings,   the   early,  228 

-clads  and   monitors,  building  of  the, 

at  Pittsburg,  472 
early  articles  made  of,  242 
early  prices  of,  228 
early  shipment  of,  to  England,  229 
early  transportation  of,  246,  247,  249, 

250 
foundry,  the  first,  at  Pittsburg,  265 
gas  in  the  manufacture  of,  275,  276 
industry,  anthracite  coal   in   the,  270, 

271 
industry,  coke  in  the  use  of  the,  271 
industry,  statistics  of  the,  276-280 
making    in    the    Susquehanna    valley, 

244 
manufacture,   extension   of,    241,    242 
manufacturing,    development   of,    465 
manufacture,  statistics  of,  276-280 
ore   for   Pittsburg,   265 
ore,   necessity  for  better,  275 
ore,  use  of  Cuban,  275 
ore,  use  of  Lake  Superior,  275 
product,   early  market   of,   250 
product,  early  prospects  of,  227 
products,   exhibit  of,   259 
transportation   of,  262 
vporks  in  Lancaster  county,  228 
works,  slaves  employed  in,  237 
works,  the  great  western,  261,  262 
Irvine,   Gen.    William,   371,   420 
Irwin,  James,  gift  of  land  by,  54 
John,    455 

Jackson,   /vndrew,  77 
Jefferson  College,  founding  of,  445 
Jenks,  George  A.,  nomination  of,  213 
Johnston,    Alexander,    255,    256,    449 

Gov.   William  F.,  256 

first   message   of,   39 

election    of,    37,    38 

renomination   of,  44 

sketch    of,    38 

views  of,   on  slavery,  42 
Johnstown  coal   region,  the,  313 


Johnstown  flood,  the,  188;  military  supervision 
following  the,   188 

recovery  of,  after  the  flood,  188 
Jones,   Benjamin  F.,  453,   467 
Judicial  districts,  new  apportionment  of,  178 
Jumonville,  killing  of,  307 
Justices,  arrest  of,  by  Connolly,  417 
Juniata  forge,   Petersburg,  248 

furnace,  245 

iron  works,  268 

Kane,    Gen.    Thomas    L.,    140 

Kansas,    clouds   forming   in,    55 

Keagy,   James   M.,    69 

Keeler,  James   E.,  470 

Kentucky  boats,  the  building  of,  430 

Keystone    Bank,    failure    of   the,    194 

Kier,   S.   M.,  330 

King,   George    S.,   258 

Kingston   forge,  255 

Kii-kpatrick,   Rev.   David,  69 

Kittanning,   revolutionary  troops  at,  419 

Kline,    Henry,    43 

Knapp  &  White,  manufacture  of  cannon  by, 

472 
Knights  of  labor,   the,  303 

Labor  difficulties,   a  series  of,    159-162 

riots   of   1877,    159-162;  of   1900,   215, 
c  216 

statistics,  establishment  of  the,  143 

strikes  in   1897,  207 

strikes  under  Governor  Pattison,  197, 

198 
troubles,    cost   of,    197 
troubles  in  Pittsburg,  159,  160 
troubles  in   Scranton,   161 
troubles.    National    Guard    called    out 

in   the,   159,    161 
troubles,    settlement    of,    by    arbitra- 
tion, 145 
Lake   Erie  fleet,   materials   for   the,  437 
Land,    quality   of,    under    cultivation,    348, 
376 

survey  of  public,  371 
Landing   day,  celebration  of,    173,    174 
Langley,  Prof.  Samuel  P.,  470 
Laughlin,    James,    467 
Law  forbidding  the  creation  of  public  debts, 

46 
Laws,   commission  to  revise  the,   191 


496 


INDEX 


Laws,  relating  to  the    poor,    codification   of, 

191 
Lawrence  cotinty,  cement  in,  35s 

iron   industry  in,  261 
Lawrenceville,   the   borough   of,  456,   457 
League  Island  Navy  Yard,  establishment  of 

the,  191 
Lee,    Arthur,    description    of    Pittsburg    by, 

421,  422 
Lee's  army,  crossing  of  the  Potomac  by,  105 
army,  entry  of,  into  Pennsylvania,  105; 
march  of,  towards  Gettysburg,  108; 
i-umerical    strength    of,     109,     no; 
retreat  of,   118,   119 
invasion  of  Pennsylvania,  102;  action 
following,  475 
Legislative    appropriation,    necessity    for    re- 
ducing,  215 
Legislature,   action    of  the,    in   the    sale   of 
public  works,    48 

arraignment    of,    by    Governor    Patti- 

son,   178 
creation  of  State  loans  by  the,   18 
convening  of  the,  for  relief  of  banks, 

52 
financial  remedy  proposed  by  the,   19 
l^ehigh  county,  cement  in,  354 
Leonard,  Reuben,  268 

Samuel,    267 
Lesley,   Robert  W.,   35s 

Lewis  and   Clark  expedition,   departure  of, 
437 

Elijah,   43,   44 
Gen.    William,  245 
George,  268 
James,  227 
Liberal    Republican   party,   the,    146 
Liberty   forge,  243 
furnace,  262 
Library,  the   State,  221 
License   law,   the  high,    185 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  death  of,   127,   128,  476, 
477 

development  of  opposition  to,  82 
election  ot,  62 
'  first   call   of,   for   militia,    85 

passage    of    remains    of,    through    the 
State,    128 
Lloyd,   Henry,   453,   467,  485 
Loan  system,  end  of  the,   14 
Lobingier,   Christopher,  255 
Log-rolling,   the   system  of,  48 


Logan   (iuards,   the,   86 

James,  228 
Lonaconing    furnace,    first    use    of    coke    in, 

271 
Loudon    furnace   and   forge,   243 
Louisiana   Purchase   Exposition,  222 
Lower  coals,  the,  314,  315 

oil    aistrict,   the,    342 
Lowrie,   Martin,  457 
Luckey,  George  J.,  185 

Luzerne  county,  labor  troubles  in,   161,   207 
Lycoming  county,   furnace   in,   244 
Lyman,  William    293 
Lyon,  John,   268 
Lyon,  Shorb  &  Co.,  475 

McClure,    Col.    A.    K.,    eulogy    of,   on    Gov- 
ernor  Curtin,   200 
McClurg,  Joseph,  265 
McCreery,  Mrs.   William,  219 
McDermett,   William,   250 
McDowell   &   Co.,   453 
jNIcElroy,    Rev.    Joseph,   447 
Mcllvaine,   Rev.    William   B.,  457 
Mclntire  coal  region,  the,  310-313 
McKinley,    President,    day    of    prayer    for, 

220;   death  of,   219,   220 
McMillan,   John,    444,    445 
McPherrin,    John,    446 
MacDowell,  1  hamos  C,   143 
MacX'eagh,    Wayne,    191 
Magee,   Christopher  Lyman,  483,   485 
Magiiire,   Kev.  C.  R.,  447;   death  of,  459 
Manatawny   forge,  226 
Manchester,  the  borough  of,  455 
Manual    training   schools,    establishment   of, 

186 
Manufacturers,   the  early,   in  Pittsburg,  428 
Married  persons,   law  in  relation  to,   34,  35 
women,    condition    of,    improved,    33, 
34 
Marshall,  samuel,  248 
Martic  forge,  264 

Material  development,  factors   in,  466,  467 
Mary  Ann   forge,   256 

furnace,  271 
Massey  forge,  247 
Mayor,  curtailing  powers  of,  223 
Meade,    Gen.   George   G.,   command   of   the 

army  by,  109 
Meason,    Isaac,   251,   255 


3-32 


497 


INDEX 


Medical  colleges,  legal   proceedings  against, 
i68,  171 

diplomas,  sale  of,   171 
Mercer  county,  iron  industry  in,  261 
Mercury,  the,  of  Pittsburg,   449 
Meredith,  William  M.,  152 
Merrill,   Joshua,    329 

Mexican  War,  monument  to  soldiers  in  the, 
136 

Pennsylvania  troops  in  the,  31 
rapid  enlistments  for  tTie,  31 
supplies   for  the,  466 
Michaux,  F.  Andre,  legacy  of,  for  forestry, 

393 

Miftlin  county,  forge  in,  244,  245 

Miles,  Col.  Samuel,  247 

Military  activity,   a  period  of  great,   91 

department,  act  for  reorganizing  the, 

83 
departments,    establishment    of    new, 

lOI 

duty,   number  subject   to,  81 

force  against  recalcitrant  tax-payers, 

433 
force,  arrival  of  a,  in  Virginia,  411 
history,   review   of,   by  the   governor, 

130 
history,  valuable  contribution  to,   187 
loans,  amount  of,  91 
measures,   adoption   of,    127 
organizations,  monuments  to,  205 
organizations,   the   first   to   volunteer, 

86 
parade   on   Landing  day,    173 
service,  exemption  from  taxation   for, 

136 
statistics  for  1862,  98,  99 
system,  lack  of  organization   in,  80 
Militia,    efficient    organization    of    the,    164, 
165 

emergency  calls  for  the,   102-105 
numbers   of,   in    1872,    164 
operations  of,  in  labor  troubles,  207 
organization  of  the,  92 
Miller,    William  H.,   191 
Miners,    necessary    qualifications    of,     303, 

304 

Miners'   and   Laborers'  Amalgamated   Asso- 
ciation, 302 

Ministry,  the  early,   425 

Mitchell,  John,  219 

Monaghan,  Robert  E.,   191 


Monongahela,  department  of  the,  10 1 

navigation   company,   453 

river,   building   on   the   bluffs  of  the, 
463 
Mont  Alto  furnace,  243 
Morell,   Daniel  J.,   155 
Mormonism,  the  origin  of,  448 
Morris,  Anthony,  227 
Morrison,  John,  455 
Moore,   Robert,   446 
Moorhead,   Capt.   Fergus,  419 

Capt.   Samuel,  419 

James  K.,  453,  457 
Mount  Joy  forge,  233,  234 

Pleasant    furnace,    243 

Vernon  forge,   245 
Mowry,   Dr.   Peter,  446 
Munitions  of  war,  manufacture  of,  240 

Nail   factory,  first  west  of  the   Alleghanies, 

2S3 

factory  in  Johnstown,  258 
factories   in    Pittsburg,    266 
Nailery,  an  early,  243,  244 
National    affairs,   alarming   condition   in,   65 
banks,     tailure     of,     in    Philadelphia, 

194.    195 
guard,   called    out    to    suppress    labor 

riots,    145 
guard,    efficient    organization    of    the, 

164,  i6s 
guard,    general    orders    to    the,    209, 

210 
guard,    operations    of    the,     in     labor 

riots,    197,    198,  216,   217 
light  infantry,  the,  86 
Native  American  party,  riots  by  the,  24,  27 
Natural  cement,  component  parts  of,  356 
cement,  how  made,  356,  357 
gas,  346-349 
gas  at  Titusville,  349 
gas,   component   parts   of,    347 
gas,  exhaustion  of,  349 
gas,   geological   relations  of,    347 
gas  in  iron  manufacture,  275,  276 
gas  in  Venango  county,  349 
resources,  225-398 
Nautical    school    ship,   establishment   of  the, 

191 
Neville,  General,  421 

Morgan,  446,  449 
New  Orleans,  launch  of  the,  438 


498 


INDEX 


Newspapers,   i-csponsibility   of,   for  contents, 

222 

Nicholls,  William  Jasper,  286,  295 
Nicholson,   John,   251 
Noble,   Henry,   257 

John,    257 
Normal  schools,  establishment  of,  53 
North   and   South,   antagonism  between,   79 

and  South,  sectional  feeling  between, 
61 

Branch    and    Erie    extension    canals, 
16 

Mountain  coal  field,  the,  310 
Northern    Liberties,    incorporation    of    the 

borough  of,  457 
Notes,  issue  of,  for  interest,  22 
Nutt,   Samuel,   226-228,  234 

Oakland    and    East    Liberty,    home    build- 
ing in,  470 
O'Brien,  Rev.   F.   X.,  447 
O'Hara,    Gen.    James,    431,    434;    land   pat- 
ent to,  454 
Ohio    river,    convention    for    the    improve- 
ment of  the,  143 

Governor    Geary    upon    the    improve- 
ment of  the,  144 
memorial    upon    the    improvement   of 
the,    143,    144 
Oil   (see  Petroleum) 

certificates,  prices  of,  339 
exports,  340 
prices  of,  339 
the  first  strike  of,  330 
Oliphant,  Andrew,  251 
F.  H.,  250,  271 
Opposition    to    removal    of    cannon    to    the 

South,  471 
Orlady,    George    B.,    election    of,    as    judge, 
202 

Pack  horses,  extensive  use   of,   441 
Packer,   Gov.  William   F.,   election   of,   55 

extract   from   message   of,   57,   58 

last  message  of,  62,  67 

nomination  of,  55 

prophetic  letter  from,  55-57 

sketch  of,  55 

views   of,   on    fugitive   slave   laws,   65 
Pan-.A.merican    Exposition,  exhibit  of   Penn- 
sylvania at  the,  219 
Park,   James,  jr.,   367 


I'arkcr,   E.   W.,    219 
James,  353 

Paschall,   Stephen,  235 

Patterson,   Kev.   Robert,  448 

Pattison,  Gov.  Robert  E.,  election  of,  174 
inaugural  address  of,   177,   178 
last  message  of,  183 
nomination   of,   194,  220 
reference  to  labor  troubles  by,  198 
second  election  of,   194 
sketch  of,  176,  177 

subjects  of  inaugural  address  of,   194 
views  of,  on   liquor   selling,    184,    185 
visit   of,   to    the   orphan   schools,    179, 
180 

Patton,    Col.   John,    247 

Peace,   celebration   of,    476 

commission,    representatives    on    the, 
74 

Pears,  Jeremiah,  252 

Penn,  William,   bi-centennial  of   the  arrival 
of,   173,   174 

efforts  to  remove  the  remains  of,  172, 

173 
patent   of,  to  Thomas  Rutter,   226 
views  of,  on  good  government,  223 

Penniman,  F.  B.,  140 

Pennsylvania  and   Delaware  boundary   com- 
mission, 191 

attitude   of,    towards   slavery,    66 
Canal,    construction    of   the,    443 
conditions   in,   in   1861,    70,   71 
courts  of,  held  in  Virginia,  418 
frontier   threatened    by   Confederates, 

96 
patriotism  of  the  people  of,  7^,  82 
quota  of,  under  the  first  call,  85 
quota  of,  under  the  second  call,  88 
(|uota  of  volunteers  of,  92 
railway,  the  mountain  division  of  the, 

46s 
rank    of,    in    industries,    143 
Railroad  company,   sale   to,    51 
refusal    of,    to    aid    on    the    western 

frontier,  408 
Reserves,   the,   89 

results  of  the  panic  of  1873  in,   156 
Rock  Oil   company,  the,   330 
rumors  of  invasion  of,  122,  123 
sacrifices  of,  in  the  Civil  War,  80 
second  invasion  of,   123 
Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Home,  the,   131 


499 


INDEX 


Pennsylvania  State  College,  the.  S4.  380 
Pennypacker,   Gov.    Samuel   W.,    200 

election  of,  220 

inauguration  of,  220 

nomination   of,   220 

sketch  of  the  life  of,  220 
Pentland,   Ephraim,   449 
Perry  county,   forge   in,   245 
Petrolevim  area,  extension  of   the,   336,   337 

average  fields  of,   338,   339 

brokers  in,  337 

early    development    of    the,    industry, 

331 
early    mention    of,    327 
early  price  of,  332 
exchanges,  337 

fluctuations  in  tiie  price  of,  338 
geological   relations  of,   338 
industry,    marvelous    development    of 

the,  478 
influence  of,  on   villages,  335 
its  kindred  industries,  336 
land,  eager  buying  of,  334,  33S 
piping  of,   from   wells,   334 
points   of  shipment  of,  333 
probable   exhaustion  of,  342,   346 
producing   districts,    increase    of,    346 
sources  of,  342 
problem   of  storing,   333 
producers'  union,  34s 
speculation  in,  337,  338 
the  era  of,  477,  478 
the  first  drilling  for,  332 
the  first  shipment  of,  in  bulk,  334 
the   first  strike  of,  330 
wells,  number  of,  344 

Pettit,  Alfred  C,  nomination  of,  174 

Philadelphia,  riots  in,  24,  27 

Philanthropy,    extent   of,    485 

Phipps,  Henry,  jr.,  483 

Pierson,    Robert,    258 

Pig  iron,  early  manufacture  of,  228 

Pine  Creek  furnace,  244;  forge,  228 
Grove  furnace,  240 

Piper,   Conrad,   256 

Pitt,  William,  412;  monument  to,   413 

Pittsburg  academy,  founding  of  the,  425 
addition  of  new  wards  in,  462,  480 
and  Beaver  canal,  completion  of  the, 

453 
and  Butler  turnpike,  the,  442 


Pittsburg   and   Greensburg   turnpike,    incor- 
poration of  the,  464 

arrival  of  the  first  canal  boat  at,  450 
arrival   of  the   first  wagon   from   the 

east  at,  441 
at  the  dawn  of  the  century,  485 
borough   tax  of,  in   1800,  435 
celebration   of    the    close   of    the    war 
in,    476;    public   sentiment   in,   just 
before   the   war,   470,   471;   wonder- 
ful recovery  of,  after  the  war,  477 
coal,  coke  made  from,  330 
coal  region,  the,  322,  323 
commanders  of  the  fort  at,  420 
commons  as  cow   pastures  in,  454 
conditions  in,  in    1800,   435,   436 
conaitions    in,    in    1820,    448 
contniued   growth   of,   434 
description  of  the  early,  434,  435 
early  church  building  in,  449 
early     commercial     shipments     from, 

438,    441 
early  importance  of,   416 
early  nail   factories  in,  266 
early    source   of  ore   for,   430 
eminent  guests  of  the  city  of,  470 
establishment    of    the    Citizens'     Pas- 
senger railway  in,   464 
extensive  manufacture  of  war  muni- 
tions at,  472 
financial  hard  times  in,  450 
First  Associate  Reformed  church   in, 

449 
first  Protestant  service  in,  413,  414 
first  survey  in,  316 
fortifying  of,  475 
French  names  perpetuated  in,  413 
gas  company,  the,   462 
Gazette,  the,  449 
high   character  of  the   population  of, 

479.     480 
Highland  park  in,  483 
holding    of    numerous    war    meetings 

at,   471 
incorporation  of,  434 
incorporation  of  the  town  of,  455 
increase   in  population  of,    426,  427, 

448 
increase    in    population    of,    on    the 

north  side  of  the   river,   455 
indirect   benefit  of  fires  in,   462 
iron  industry  at,  262,  269 


500 


INDEX 


Pittsburg,  labor  riots  in,  159,  160 

location  of  the  early  cliurclies  in,  449 
lotteries  in,  434 

multiplication  of  churches  in,  470 
names  of  prominent  families  in,  455 
naming  of,  by  Washington,   413 
new   charter    for,   434 
newspapers  of,  in   1820,   449 
number  of  churches  in,  in   1842,  459 
oft-quoted  description  of,  421,  422 
organization     of    the    Third    Presby- 
terian   church    in,    459 
pioneer   shipbuilders  in,   438 
population  of,  in   1790,   427;  in   1800, 

435;   in   1840,   459,   460 
population  figures  of  1850  and  i860, 

466 
population    statistics    of,    in    1830-40, 

455 
Presbyterian    churches,    building    of, 

in,    444 
Presbyterian    congregation    in,    incor- 
poration of,  425 
present  population  of,   481,  482 
protection    from   fire  in,  457 
raising  of  earthworks  around,  475 
Reformed     Presbyterian     church     of, 

449 
relations  of  the  Penns  to,  426 
relief   for   sufferers   from   the    fire   of 

184s    in,   461 
revival    of    commerce    and    trade    in, 

450 
rolling    mills,    267,    268 
St.   Patrick's  church   in,  the  old,   449 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral  in,  laying  of  the 

corner-stone   of,   459 
St.  Paul's  church  in,  building  of,  449 
shipbuilding  in,  438 
soft  coal  region,  309 
street  paving  in,  beginning  of,  463 
the  city  of  churches,  445 
the  first  furnace  at,  262,  430 
the  first  house  of  worship  in,  426 
the  first  iron   foundry  at,   265 
the  first  rolling  mill  at,  267 
the  great  fire  in,  461;  rebuilding  after 

the,  462 
the  manor  of,  426 
the  public  conservatory  in,  483,  484 
traffic  of,  with  New  Orleans,  436,  437 


Pittsburg  troops,  record  of,  in  the  Mexican 
War,   466 

water  supply  of,  reservoir  for  the,  457 

water   works,  cost  of  the   new,   457 ; 
measures  adopted  for  new,  462 

zoological  garden,  the,   483 
Plating  forge,  235 
Pleasonton,   Gen.  Alfred,   109 
Poe,  John,  jr.,  446 
Political  changes  in  i860,  62 

campaign    for   governor,    194 

sentiment,  division  in,   82,   83 

situation,   revolution    in   the,    174 
Politics,  an  interesting  year  in,   146 

relation  of,  to  internal  improvements, 
6,  7 
Polk    furnace,    261 

Pollock,    Gov.    James,    congratulations    by, 
51,   52 

declination   of,   54 

election   of,   49,   50 

sale  of  public  works  under,   51,   52 

sketch   of,  so>   5i 

views  of,  on  education,  53 
Pontiac's  conspiracy,  448 
Pool    forge,    225,    226 

Popular  sovereignty.  Governor  Packer's  be- 
lief  in,   60,   61 
Porter,   Gov.    David    K.,   extracts    from   first 
message  of,  7 

extracts  from  message  of,  8,  21,  22 

financial   recommendations   of,    19,   20 

first  message  of,   i 

loss   of    zeal    of,    regarding    improve- 
ments, 7 

message   of,   to  the   Senate,   29 

recommendations  of,  refused,  2 

re-election  of,  22 

sketch    of,    I 

veto  of  banking  bill  by,  20 

views  of,  on  public  transportation,  16, 

17 
Porter's    administration,    1839-1845,    1-29;    a 
reform  during,  27,  28;   commendation   of, 
29;    stormy    character   of,    29 
Portland    cement,    353 

component  parts  of,  357 
early    works    for    making,    352 
importation   of,   352 
increase   in   the  production   of,   258 
Piistal    facilities   in   early   years,  441 
Postlethwnite,  J.,  446 


501 


INDEX 


Potter,   William  W.,  69 
Potts,   Isaac,  234 

Joseph,    234 

Robert    S.,    237 

Thomas,  225,  228 
Powers,    James,    444 
Praetorius,   George    O.,    1S6 
Probst,   John,   255 
Prosperity,  a   marvelous  record   of,   481-483 

general,  after  the  war,   134,   135 
Protective   tariff,   a,   38,    39 
Public   charities,   organization    of    board   of, 
140 

debt,  amount  of  the,  i ;  payment  of, 
urged,   48 

funds,  amount  of,  in  the  treasury, 
182 

improvements,  amount  necessary  to 
continue,  13 

improvements,  failure  of,  to  pay 
profits,  IS 

improvements,  work  necessary  to 
complete,   13 

records,    222 

schools,  act  regarding,  40,  41 

schools,  important   legislation   for,   49 

works,  autnorization  of  sale  of,  23 

works,  committee's  views  on,   24 

works,  condition  of,  under  Bigler,  46 

works,  end   ot   State   participation  in, 

59 
giving  away  of  parts  of,  23 
works,  reduction  of  price  of,  23 
works,   sale   of,    proposed   by    Bigler, 
48 
Pulp   industry  as   related  to    forestry,   389 

Railroad    and    river    tonnage,    account    of, 
482 

companies  and  mining  companies,  dis- 
tinction   between,    301,   302 
connections,     opening     of     westward, 

465 

freight   rates,   344-346 

freight  rates,  discrimination  in,  344- 
346 

from  Harrisburg  to  Pittsburg,  com- 
pletion of  the,  49 

obligations,  assumption  of  large,  464 
Railroads  and  canal,  proposed  sale  of,   17 

consolidation  of,  prevented,   196,    197 


Railroads,  constitutional  provision   enforced 
against,    181 

discriminations   by    the,    171 

destruction  of,  by  Lee,   106 

plans  for  beginning,  460 

shipments  of  coal  on  the,  291,  292 
Railway  transportation,  agitation  of  the  sub- 
ject of,  464 

travel,  b^ginnning  of,  464 
Ralston   basin,   the,   310 
Rangers,    the,    309 
Raymond,  Philander,  262 
Read,    A.    II.,    views   ot,    on    State    finance, 

II,   12 
Reading    furnace,    161 

labor  riots  at,  160 
Redding  furnace,   228 
Reed,   Alexander,  45 

John,    446 
Reeder,    Howard   J.,   election    of,    as   judge, 

202 
Religious    movement,    the   great    awakening, 

444 

sentiment,  prevalence  of  early,  444 
Republican  convention,  eminent  men  at  the, 
468 

party,  call  for  meeting  of  the,  468 

party,  division  in  the,   174 
Reserve  tract,  description  01  the,  454 

volunteer     corps,     act     for     organiza- 
tion  of  the,  88,  89 
Revolution,   conditions  at  the   close  of  the, 
421 

settlement  after  the,  421 
Reynolds,  J.  C,  453 

Brig.-Gen.    John    F.,    97;    at    Gettys- 
burg, 109 
Rice,  Charles  E.,  elected  judge,  202 
Richardson,  H.  H.,  483 
Richmond,  the   fall  of,    127 
Riddle,  Rev.   David  H.,  459 
Ridgely,   Edward,   245 
Rigdon,   Sidney,   448 

Rights   of   property,    extension   of,    to   mar- 
ried women,  33,  34 
Ringgold  Eight  Artillery,  the,  86 
Riot,   casualties    in   the    Philadelphia,   43 

the    fugitive   slave,    434 
Riots,  killing  of  men  in,   197 
Rives,    William   C,   74 
Rivet  manufacture,  250 
Road    construction,    general,   442 


502 


INDEX 


Roberts,   Samuel,   446 

Robertson,  Jolin   R.,  74 

Robinson,  Capt.   James,  258 
George,    434 
William,  Jr.,  446 

Rockefeller,  John  D.,  344 

Rogers,    Gen.    CJeorge,    illfnted    cxpcflitinn 
of,  420 

&  Burchfield,  275 

Rolling  and  slitting  mill,  the  first,  233 
mill,    at    Plumsoek,    253 
mill,   the   first  in   Pittsburg,  267 
mill,  the  first  in  the  U.  S.,  253 
nulls,    west   of   the    Alleghanics,   253, 
253 

Roman   cement,   350 

Ross,    George,    239 

Rothrock,  In.  J.  T.,   186,    1Q9 

Roup,  Col.  Joseph,  265 

Rover,  John,  248 

Roxborough  furnace,  220 

Rutter,    Thomas,   225-227 

Rynder,   T.    P.,   nomination   of,    194 

St.    Clair,    Gen.    Arthur,    failure    of   the   ex- 
pedition of,  431 
Sale  of  State   stocks,   reason  for,   11 
Salt    manufacture,     establishment    of,     457, 

458 
Sarum  iron  works,  220 
Saylor,  David  O.,  254,  260 
Schaeffer,  Nathan  C,  185,  401 
Schenley,  Mrs.  Mary  E.,  483 
Schoenberger,   John   H.,   485 
School  department,  organization  of  an  inde- 
pendent, S3 

system,    growth    of    the,    41;     under 

Governor  Geary,   138,   140 
tax,  amount  of,  41 
Schools,   appropriations   for  the,   214,  215 
condition   of  the,   41 

development  of,   21 1-2 13 
establishment  of  high,  41 
establishment  of  manual  training,  186 
expenditures  for,  138 
for  training  teachers,  303 
progress    of,    during    Hartranft's    ad- 
ministration,  163,   164 
promotion        of,       under       Governor 

Packer,   59,  60 
scientific    measures    for    establishing, 
185,   186 


Scott,  Joseph,   250 

Thomas   A.,    453 
Scranton,  labor  troubles  in,  ifii 
Scull,  John,  446 
Seat  of  justice,  strife  over  the   location   of, 

454 
Secession,   beginning  of,  62 

Governor  Packer's  views  on,  65 
Sedgwick,  Gen.  John,    109 
Settlers,  nationalities  of,  369 
Seneca  oil,   230 
Shade    furnace,    256 

Shenandoah,   labor  troubles  at,   215,  216 
Shenango  valley  coal  region,  the,  317 
Sliepard,    Major-Gen.    Edward    M.,    83 
Shinn,   John   K.,   355 

William    P.,    355 
Shipbuilding,  early,  233 
Shoemaker,  Col.  George,  289 
Shoenberger,    George,   248 

Dr.   Peter,  248,  268 
Shot  and  shell   for  the  army,  236 
Shunk,  Gov.  Francis  Raun,  death  of,  37 

election    of,   30,    31 

re-election   of,   36 

resignation   of,   36,   37 

sketch    of,   40 

views   of,   on   corporate    development, 
32,   33 

views  of,  on   divorce,   35 

William    !>.,    199 
Shunk's  and  Johnston's  administrations,  30- 

44 
.Sickles,  Gen.   Daniel   E.,   109;   wounding  of, 

113 
Singerly,    William  M.,  nomination  of,  200 
Sinking   fund,   creation   of  a,   41,   42 
.Slave  hunters,  a  party  of,  43 
Slavery,  sentiment  of  opposition   to,  479 

views  of  Governor  Packer  on,  61 
Sligo    rolling   mill,   268 
Slippery  Rock  furnace,  261 
Slocum,   Benjamin,  244 

Ebenezer,   244 

Gen.   Henry   W.,   109 
Smith,   A.    D.,   285 

Dr.   VVilliam  Hooker,   244 

Joseph,    265,    444 

Peter  P.,  election  of,  as  judge,  202 
Smoky  City,   the  title  of,   428 
Snowden  &  Mason,  472 

John   M.,   446,   449 


503 


INDEX 


Soil,  character  of,  364,  365 
Soldiers'    national    cemetery,    establishment 
of   the,    119,    120 

orplian  schools,  abuses  in,   179,   180; 
establishment     of,     131;     investiga- 
tion of,  179-181 
Somerset  county,  furnace  in,  256 
Soundwell   forge,   243 

South    and    North,   antagonism   between,    79 
South    Carolina,   secession   01,  62 
South   Improvement  company,  the,  346 
Spalding,   Bishop,  J.  L.,  219 
Spang,  Chalfant  &  Co.,  276 
Spanish-American  War,  part  taken  in  by  the 
National  Guard,  209-211;  Pennsylvania  in 
the,  207 ;  second  call  for  troops  for  the, 
208;   volunteers   tor   the,   208 
Spaulding,  Rev.  Solomon,  448 
Special   legislation,   evils   of,   35,    36;    under 

Governor   Bigler,   48,   49 
Specie  payment,   resumption  of,  considered, 

21 
Speculation,  spread  of,  18 
Spring    forge,    239 
Springfield    furnace,    260 
Spring    Garden    National    Bank,    failure    of 

the,  194 
Standard   Oil  company,  the,   344-346 
.Stanton,    Edwin    M.,   467 
State  Agricultural  college,  the,   378-381 

and    banking    institutions,    separation 

of,    urged,     12,    13 
bankruptcy  threatened,    13 
banks,    limitation    of    the    powers    of 

the,  162,   163 
Board  of  Agriculture,   the,   376,   377, 

392 
College,     endowment     of     the,     380; 

foundations  of  the,  53,  54 
credit,  ettects  of  indebtedness  on  the, 

6 
credit,  efforts  to  preserve  the,   13,   14 
credit,  solicitude  for  the,  9,  10 
debt,  amount   of   the,    23 
debt,  reduction  of  the,   136,  168,   181, 

182 
department    of    agriculture,     forestry 

division  of,  395 
economic    conditions    in     the,     under 

ShunK,  31 
finances,  bad   condition   of   the,    13-15 
finances,  condition  of,  in  1862,  91 


State  financial  situation  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  129,  130 

floating  debt,  amount  of,  214 

forestry,  383 

forestry,    limitations    of,    388 

forestry   reservations,    397 

forestry   reservations,    act   to   secure, 

202,  205 
general  invasion  of  the,  feared,  loi 
general  prosperity  of  the,  134 
government,   harmony   in   the,    73 
inability  of  the,  to   pay  interest,  22 
indebtedness  of  the,  in  i860,  71 
invasion  of  the,  by  Lee,  102 
library,  appropriation  for  building  of 

the,  199 
material   resources  of   the,   38 
military   commotion   in    the,    105 
military  conditions  of  the,  in  1861,  81 
normal   schools,   establishment  of,    53 
notes,   amount  of  issue   of,   23 
population  of   the,    in   1S61,   70 
preparations  for  defence  against  Lee, 

lOI 

prosperity,  return  of,  168 

public   debt  of  the,   December,    1861, 

100;   1862,   100 
public   works,   proposed   sale    of,    11, 

12 
reapportionment,   efforts   for,    178 
records,  measures   for  publication  of, 

39,  40 
requisition  on  the,  for  Reserve  corps, 

89 
reservations,   394,   395 
resumption   of  payments  by  the,   22 
stocks,    decline   of,    13 
stocks,  proposed  sale  of,   1 1 
stocks,   unsalable   condition  of,   19 
Statesman,  The,  449 
Statistics    of    oil    prices,    339 
Steamboat  building  in  Pittsburg,  438,  441 
Steamboats  built  for  the  government,  472 
Steel   furnace  at  Bridgeport,  253 

furnaces,  two  early,  in  Philadelphia, 

23s,  236 
manufacture   of,   273,   274 
manufacture  of  crucible,  273,   274 
manufacture,  statistics  of,  275 
manufacture   in   Pittsburg,  275 
manufacture    by    the    -Siemens-Martin 
process,  275 


504 


INDEX 


Steel  works,  the  first,  234 
Sterrett,    vVilliam,   245 
Stevenson,    i)r.    George,    446 
Stewart,  Jonn,   nomination  of,   174 

Robert  T.,  268 
Stockton,  Rev.  Joseph,  445 
Stone,  Gov.  William  A.,  election  of,  213 

financial  remarks  in  the  inaugural  ad- 
dress  of,   214,   215 

nomination  of,  213 

sketch  of  the   life   of,  213,   214 
Strikes,  a  series  of,   159-162 
Stuart's  raid   to  Chambersburg,   95 
Summers,  George  W.,  74 
Superior  Court,  organization  of  the,  202 
Susquehanna,  department  of  the,   loi,   102 
Sutton,  James,  244 

Swallow,    Sila  C,    nomination  of,    213 
Swank,  James  M.,  note,  287 
Swift,    Rev.    Elisha    P.,    445 
Sykes,  Gen.   George,  109 
Synod  of  Pittsburg,  creation  of  the,  444 

Talbot,   D.   Smith,   395 
Tannehill,  Josiah,  burgess,  434 
Tarascon    lirothers,    shipbuilders,   438 
Tariff  of   1846,  the,  39 

Tax,  amount  of  the  personal   property,    195 
law,   failure  of  the,    15 
on    whiskey,    opposition    to    the,    432, 
433 
Taxation,  articles  under,  9 

as  the  last  expedient,  8 
comparative,    in   Pittsburg,    436 
exemption    from,    of   orphans'    school 

fund,  136,   137 
exemption    from,    of    real    estate    for 

State  purposes,   136 
exemption  from,  of  real  estate   sales, 

137 
exemption    from,    on   sales    of   loans, 

136 
exemption   from,  on  shares  of  stock, 

137 
exemption  of  capital  stock  from,  137 
exemption    of    real    estate    mortgages 

from,   137 
exemption    of    salaries,    trades,    etc., 

from,    137 
Governor   Porter's  defence    of,   9 
reduction  of,   137,   138 
relief   from,    137 


Taxes,  amounts  of  collected,  33 

difficulty  in   collection  of,  9,   10 

imposition    of,    for    additional    reve- 
nue, 8,  9 
Taylor,   Bayard,  death  of,  165 

John,   220 
Temperance  furnace,  250 

measures   for  the   promotion   of,    184 
Tenth   regiment,    departure   of,    for   Manila, 

208 
Thaw,  William,  453,  467,   469,  485 
Thomas,   JJavid,   270,   271,  292 
Timber  land,  revenue  from,  386 

production,  389 
iitusville,  gas  at,   349 
Tomlinson,   Hartupie   &  Co.,  472 
Topography   in    relation   to   agriculture,   364 
Townsend,   Robert,   &   Co.,   260 

Washington,   186,  392 
Trade   with   the  west,   fears  of  loss  of,  442, 

443 
Transportation   business,    rapid   rise   of,   453 

enormous  increase  of,  482 

facilities,    lack   of    eastward,    441 
Trent,   Capt.   William,  406 
Troops,  attack  on,   in   Baltimore,   86,   87 

call  for,  to  repel  invasion,  102 

departure  of,  for  Washington,  89 

for    the    Spanish-American    War,    effi- 
ciency of  the,   210,   211 

rapid  volunteering  of,  85,  86 

requisitions   for,   98 
Turnpike     from     Harrisburg     to     Pittsburg, 

construction  of,  441 

from   Pittsburg   to    Washington,    Pa., 
442 

the  great  National,  442 
Turnbull   &   Marmie,  250 
Turner,   Joseph,    228 
Tyler,  John,  74 
Tyrone   forges,   258 

Union  forge,  251 

furnace,  251 

rolling  mill,  the,  269 
Unions,    coal   miners'    302,   303 
United   mine   workers'    association,   the,   303 
Updegraff,  Abner,  266 

N'alley  forge,   243 

Forge   Commission,    222 
\'an    Braam,   Jacob,   405 


505 


INDEX 


N'andegrift,  Capt.  J.  J.,  333 
V^an  Syckel,   Samuel,  334 
Xenango    county,   furnace   in,   261 

county,   gas    in,   348 

French  occupation  of  tlie  site  of,  404 

oil  district,  340,  341 
Vickroy,   Joseph,   256 
Vincent  steel  works,  234 

Virginia,   claims  of,   as  against   the   proprie- 
taries, 417 

defeat    of,    in    western    Pennsylvania, 
407 

measures    for     the     defence    of    the 
frontier  of,   408,  409 

operations    of,     against    the     French, 
406,  409 

troops  of,  for  the   Revolution,   419 
Volunteer  enlistments,  a  new  place  for  se- 
curing, 92 

militia,  discharge  of,  97 

militia,    service    01,    in    Maryland,   97 

organizations,  control  of,  by  the  gov- 
ernment, 89 
Volunteering,   delay  in,    103 
Volunteers,  acknowledgment  of  heroism  of, 
by    Congress,    87 

action    following    the    first    call     for, 
471 

activity  of,   in   enlisting,   471,   472 

assembling  of,  to  repel  invasion,   103 

bounties  for,  92,   93 

calls  for,  in  1861,  90;  in  1862,  91 

departure  of,  86 

exemption   from  taxation  of,   136 

in   camps,  90 

independent   regiments    of,    89 

ministering  to   the   needs  of,  475 

number  of,  demanded  in   1864,   122 

number   of,   from   Allegheny   county, 
472 

number  of,  in  service  January,  1862, 
90;  in  January,   1863,  98 

number  of,   supplied  in   1865,    127 

organization  of,  at  Pittsburg,  31 

persistent    recruiting   of,    127 

requisitions   for,    89 

second  call   for,  88 

sent  out  in  1862,  91 

short  term  service,   103 

total  number  of,  down  to  1865,  99 

Wagner,  Gen.  Louis,  181 


Walker,   Daniel,   234 

Hon.    John    H.,    152 

Wampum  Cement  company,  360 

War.    appropriation   for,   80 

beginning  of  the   Civil,   79 

claims,   act   for   adjudication   of,    135, 

136 
lack  of  preparation  for,   78,   79 
meetings,  holding  of,  80 
munitions,   manufacture  of,  466 
of   1812,  effects  of  the,  on  trade,  438 
period,   end   of   the,    132 
proclamation  of,  81 

Ward,    Major   Edward,   318 

Warren  and  Forest  oil  district,  the,  341 
oil  district,  the,  340 

Warwick   furnace,  229,  230 

Washington    artillery,    the,    86 

city   arrival   of  volunteers  at,   87 
city,    Pennsylvania    troops   at,    85,   86 
county  oil  district,  the,  342 
furnace,  244 
General,   and    Gist,   journey   of,   405, 

413;  visit  of,  to  Pittsburg,  416 
College,   founding  of,  445 
defeat  of,  in  the  west,  408 

Watkins,  Ihomas  H.,  219 

Watson,  Jonathan,  333 

Watts,  David,  245 

Wayne,    Gen.    Anthony,   expedition   of,    432 

Weistling,  Col.  George  B.,   168 

West  Augusta,   county   of,   417;    courts   of, 
418  note 

Western    frontier,    protection    of    the,    411, 
412 

frontier,   scenes  of  bloodshed  on  the, 
419,  420 

Western    Pennsylvania,    conflict    of    French 
and  English  claims  in,  404-411 

early  physical   conditions  of,    399-401 
early  towns  in,  427 
English  claims  to,  403,  404 
entry  of  the  French  into,  402 
First   white  pioneers   of,  401,   402 
French  operations  in,  402-404 
French  refusal  to  leave,  406 
in  the  Revolution,  418-421 
migration   towards,    436 
rapid  settlement   of,  427 
the  first   furnace  in,  429 
trappers  and  traders  in,  412 


506 


INDEX 


Western  Theological   Seminary,  455,  456 

University     of     Pennsylvania,     incor- 
poration of   the,  445;    new  building 
for    the,    459;    rebuilding    of    the, 
469;  second  burning  of  the,  469 
Westinghouse,  George,  480 
Westmoreland     county,     iron     industry     in, 
255;   labor  riot  in,    197;  patriotic  meeting 
in,   418 
Wheat  crop  of  Juniata   valley,   373 
Wickersham,   James   P.,    138;    report    of,    as 

school   superintendent,   138,    139 
Wickham,    John    J.,    election    of,    as    judge, 

202 
Wilkins,  John,   444 
William,    446 
Wilkinson,    Wilkes  &   Co.,   323 
Willard,    Kdward   N.,  election  of,   as  judge, 

202 
Willcox,   James   M.,   355 


Williams,   Joseph,   234 

Williamson,   Col.   David,   420 

Wilmot,   David,   nomination   of,   55 

Wilson,  Gen.  John   M.,  219 

Wire  mill  at  Fallston,  260 

Wolf,  Charles   K.,  nomination   of,   182 

Women,  condition  of  married,  33 

laws  to  protect  married,  33 
World's    Columbian    Exposition,    appropria- 
tion for,  198;  Pennsylvania  at  the,  198 
Wright,   Hon.  Carroll   D.,  219 

William    R.,  appointment   of,    195 
Wrightsville,    seizure    of,    by    the    Confed- 
erates,  los 
Wynkoop,  Colonel,  31 

York,   Confederate  troops   at,    105 

county,   furnaces   in,   242 
Young,  John,  446 


507 


n 


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